MANUAL 

OF 

WEEDS 

fy- 

ADA 
GEORGIA 


THE  RURAL  MANUALS 
L-H-BAILEY*  EDITOR 


f  CALIFORNIA 


LES 


TTbe  TRural  /IDanuals 

EDITED  BY  L.  H.  BAILEY 


A   MANUAL   OF  WEEDS 


Hbe  IRural  manuals 

EDITKD  BY  L.  H.  BAILEY 

& 

MANUAL  OF  GARDENING  —  Bailey 
MANUAL  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  —  Harper 
FARM  AND  GARDEN  RULE-BOOK  —  Bailey 
MANUAL    OF    FRUIT     INSECTS  —  Slingerland  and 


MANUAL  OF  WEEDS  —  Georgia 

MANUAL  OF  HOME-MAKING  —  In  preparation 

MANUAL  OF  CULTIVATED  PLANTS  —  In  preparation 


16 


TOOLS  FOR  DESTROYING  WEEDS 

1.  Broad-bladed  Hoe.  2.  Warren  Pattern  Garden  Hoe.  3.  Grubbing  Hoe.  4.  Rake. 
5.  Weeding  Hoe.  6.  7, 11.  Hand  Weeders.  8  Spading  Fork.  9.  Root-digger.  10.  Spud. 
12.  Spade.  13.  Weeding  Harrow  with  shafts  and  teeth  adjustable.  14.  Cultivating 
Hoe.  15.  Plow.  16.  Cultivator,  with  adjustable  blades  of  different  size.  17.  Wheel  Hoe. 


L^*^    *  -*'"* 

fr*r 

A  MANUAL  OF  WEEDS 


WITH  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  ALL  OF  THE  MOST  PERNI- 
CIOUS AND  TROUBLESOME  PLANTS  IN  THE  UNITED 
STATES  AND  CANADA,  THEIR  HABITS  OF  GROWTH 
AND  DISTRIBUTION,  WITH  METHODS  OF  CONTROL 


BY 


ADA   E.   GEORGIA 

ASSISTANT    IN   THE    FARM    COURSE,    NEW  YORK    STATE    COLLEGE 
OF   AGRICULTURE,    CORNELL    UNIVERSITY 


WITH  385  ILLUSTRATIONS 
BY 

F.   SCHUYLER  MATHEWS 

AtrTHOK  OF  "FIELD  BOOK  or  AMERICAN  WILD  FLOWI 


Neto  gotfe 

THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 
1916 

All  rights  reserved 


COPTKIOHT,   1914, 

BY  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.     Published  October,  1914.     Reprinted 
October,  1916. 


Nortaoofi 

J.  8.  Gushing  Co.  -  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


B/ 


THE  REVERED  MEMORY  OF 
JOHN  WALTON    SPENCER 

MY   EMPLOYER,    TEACHER,    AND   FKIEND,    TO 

WHOSE   FIRST   SUGGESTION 

AND   ENCOURAGEMENT   THE   BEGINNING   OF 
THIS    BOOK    IS    DUE 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PACtB 

PREFACE     .        .        .        . <        .        .  ix 

WHAT  is  A  WEED? 1 

FINANCIAL  Loss  DUE  TO  WEEDS 6 

DISSEMINATION  OF  WEEDS ..9 

CHEMICAL  HERBICIDES 13 

DESCRIPTIVE  LIST  AND  MEANS  OF  CONTROL          ....  17 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 559 

LIST    OF    PLANTS    DISTINCTLY    POISONOUS   OR   MECHANICALLY 

HARMFUL  TO  ANIMAL  LIFE 563 

GLOSSARY 565 

INDEX                                                                                                    .  571 


vii 


PREFACE 

NATURE  is  the  great  farmer.  Continually  she  sows  and  reaps, 
making  all  the  forces  of  the  universe  her  tools  and  helpers.  The 
sun's  rays,  wind,  rain,  frost  and  snow,  insects  and  birds,  animals 
small  and  great,  even  to  the  humble  burrowing  worms  of  the  earth, 
all  work  mightily  for  her  and  a  harvest  of  some  kind  is  absolutely 
sure.  And  to  the  people  who  must  wrest  a  living  from  the  soil,  not 
only  for  themselves  but  for  all  mankind  besides,  it  must  seem  that 
Nature's  favorites  are  the  hardy,  aggressive,  and  often  useless  and 
harmful  plants  which  they  have  named  weeds. 

Yet,  when  man  interferes  with  the  Great  Mother's  plans  and 
insists  that  the  crops  shall  be  only  such  as  may  benefit  and  enrich 
himself,  she  seems  to  yield  a  willing  obedience,  and  under  his  guid- 
ance does  immensely  better  work  than  when  uncontrolled.  But 
Dame  Nature  is  an  "eye-servant"  ;  only  by  the  sternest  determina- 
tion and  the  most  unrel axing  vigilance  can  her  fellow-worker  subdue 
the  earth  to  his  will  and  fulfill  the  destiny  foreshadowed  in  that 
primal  blessing,  so  sadly  disguised  and  misnamed,  when  the  first 
man  was  told,  "  Cursed  is  the  ground  for  thy  sake ;  in  sorrow  shalt 
thou  eat  of  it  all  the  days  of  thy  life ;  thorns  also  and  thistles  shall 
it  bring  forth  to  thee ;  and  thou  shalt  eat  of  the  herb  of  the  field." 
A  stern  decree.  But  the  civilization  of  the  peoples  of  the  earth  is 
measured  by  the  forward  state  of  their  agriculture ;  and  agriculture 
in  its  simplest  terms  is  the  compelling  of  the  soil  to  yield  only  such 
products  as  shall  conduce  to  the  welfare  of  the  people  who  live  upon 
it.  It  resolves  itself  into  a  contest  with  nature  as  to  what  plants 
shall  be  permitted  to  grow,  and  the  discovery  of  the  easiest,  surest, 
and  most  economical  means  of  securing  a  victory  in  the  strife. 

In  agriculture,  as  in  every  field  of  labor,  modern  invention  and 
discovery  have  greatly  multiplied  the  power  and  efficiency  of  each 
pair  of  human  hands ;  but  still  in  this  contest  with  nature  and 
the  growing  plants,  it  frequently  happens  that  those  hands  are 


X  PREFACE 

the  only  tools  which  can  be  used  effectively  —  as  the  writer  knows 
by  many  years  of  hard  practical  experience,  both  in  garden  and 
in  field.  Again,  some  simple  expedient  of  little  cost  and  easy 
application,  may  do  the  work  of  many  hands  and  increase  by 
many  fold  the  soil's  return  for  the  labor.  A  wider  acquaintance 
with  such  methods  of  control  seems  desirable  and  therefore  the 
writer  has  endeavored  to  bring  together,  so  far  as  could  be  learned, 
the  knowledge  gained  by  much  study  and  careful  experiment  in 
many  different  parts  of  the  country  by  earnest  and  thought- 
ful workers.  There  is  a  great  dearth  of  books  on  this  most  im- 
portant subject,  but  such  as  could  be  obtained  have  been  diligently 
studied.  The  Bibliography  on  page  559  will  indicate  the  writer's 
debt  in  this  regard.  Many  files  of  agricultural  periodicals  have 
been  consulted  and  most  grateful  acknowledgment  is  made  for 
assistance  received  from  the  publications  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  at  Washington,  and  to  the  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station  Bulletins  of  the  various  states  and  of  the  Canadian 
Provinces. 

In  nomenclature  and  order  of  classification  the  writer  has  fol- 
lowed Gray's  New  Manual  of  Botany,  seventh  edition,  1908.  For 
plants  outside  of  the  geographic  limits  included  in  that  book, 
Coulter  and  Nelson's  New  Manual  of  Rocky  Mountain  Botany,  and 
W.  L.  Jepson's  Flora  of  Western  Middle  California,  have  been  con- 
sulted. For  range,  season  of  bloom  and  fruit,  and  much  other  very 
important  and  necessary  information,  most  invaluable  help  has 
been  obtained  from  the  New  Illustrated  Flora  of  the  Northern 
United  States  and  Canada,  by  Britton  and  Brown,  and  the  revised 
Flora  of  the  Southeastern  United  States,  by  Dr.  J.  K.  Small. 
Statements  concerning  plants  that  are  poisonous  or  otherwise  harm- 
ful to  health  have  been  made  on  authority  of  publications  issued  by 
the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture.  Dr.  L.  H.  Pammel's 
Manual  of  Poisonous  Plants  has  also  been  a  helpful  reference. 
Mention  is  made  of  the  fact  that  some  weeds  are  medicinally  valu- 
able, and  may  occasionally  be  made  to  pay  for  the  cost  of  their 
extermination.  The  writer's  authority  for  prices  and  modes  of 
preparation  has  been  the  interesting  series  of  bulletins  prepared  by 
Miss  Alice  Henkel,  Assistant,  Drug-Plant  Investigations,  at  the 
Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  at  Washington. 


PREFACE  xi 

The  writer  desires  to  express  most  grateful  acknowledgment  to 
Professor  James  G.  Needham  for  helpful  suggestions  as  to  the 
plan  of  the  book  and  reading  of  the  manuscript ;  to  Professor 
Karl  M.  Wiegand  for  reading,  criticism,  and  amendment  of  the  text 
while  in  proof ;  and  to  Miss  Lela  A.  Gross  of  the  Editorial  De- 
partment of  the  New  York  State  Agricultural  College  for  reading 
the  proof. 

The  writer  has  attempted  —  not  very  successfully  —  to  make  the 
terms  of  the  descriptive  text  somewhat  less  technical  and  easier 
for  the  general  reader  to  understand  than  that  of  the  botanies ;  but 
one  who  makes  even  a  modest  effort  in  that  direction  soon  realizes 
the  difficulties,  for,  after  all,  technical  terms  are  exact,  and  no 
paraphrase,  however  carefully  defined,  can  be  made  so  fit.  "  Seeds  " 
are  often  mentioned  by  that  term,  because  it  is  the  only  one  used 
by  the  seed  merchant  and  the  farmer,  to  whom,  also,  any  capsular 
fruit  is  likely  to  be  a  "pod."  Of  the  common  names  given,  the 
writer  has  in  every  case  selected  for  a  heading  the  one  considered  to 
be  in  widest  and  most  common  use  for  the  plant  described. 

A  few  paragraphs  of  the  introductory  chapters  are  rearranged 
from  some  lessons  about  weeds  which  were  furnished  by  the  writer 
for  the  Leaflets  of  the  Home  Nature-Study  Course,  while  serving  as 
Assistant  in  the  Bureau  of  Nature-Study  at  Cornell  University. 
These  leaflets,  however,  are  now  out  of  print.  To  make  a  book 
that  would  be  helpful  to  any  one  who  loves  and  grows  plants,  and 
must  combat  weeds  in  order  to  help  them  to  grow,  has  been  for 
many  years  the  writer's  strongest  wish.  In  the  hope  that  it  may 
be  one  of  the  few  wishes  that  "come  true,"  this  book  is  given  to  the 
public. 

ADA   E.   GEORGIA. 

ITHACA,  NEW  YORK, 
July,  1914. 


A  MANUAL   OF  WEEDS 


WHAT  IS  A  WEED? 

A  WEED  is  a  plant  that  is  growing  where  it  is  desired  that  some- 
thing else  shall  grow.  It  follows  that  a  plant  may  be  a  weed  in 
some  places  and  not  in  others.  Cockle  in  the  wheat  fields  is  most 
undesirable;  New  England  Asters  and  Black-eyed  Susans  are 
detrimental  when  growing  in  the  meadow ;  but  all  are  graceful  and 
beautiful  plants,  and,  growing  in  a  protected  flower  garden,  would 
be  a  feast  to  color-loving  eyes.  It  is  well  that  most  pernicious 
plants  have  little  beauty  to  make  them  desired  in  the  posy  beds  of 
the  farm  home,  for,  though  it  is  necessary  to  label  some  bad  weeds 
as  "  escapes  from  cultivation,"  they  are  not  numerous  nor  among 
the  most  evil  of  their  kind. 

Each  weed  has  its  own  way  of  winning  in  its  struggle  with  the 
farmer's  crops  and  its  habits  must  be  learned  in  order  to  know  how 
to  get  the  better  of  it.  This  can  be  done  only  by  a  study  of  the  life 
history  of  the  species.  According  to  their  nature,  different  means 
of  extermination  must  be  practiced,  always  remembering  that  all 
living  things  are  tender  and  die  most  easily  when  they  are  young ; 
and  also  that  in  every  case  the  chief  end  is  to  prevent  reproduction 
of  kind. 

Weeds,  like  all  other  plants,  may  be  classified  according  to  the 
length  of  time  they  live :  as  annual,  surviving  the  winter  only  in  the 
seed ;  as  biennial,  storing  in  fleshy  root  or  broad  green  leafy  rosette 
the  food  drawn  from  the  soil  and  air  during  the  first  season,  to  per- 
fect the  fruitage  in  the  second  year;  and  as  perennial,  surviving 
through  many  seasons  and  springing  up  to  spread  abroad  their  kind 
and  pester  the  land  year  after  year,  unless  destroyed  "root  and 
branch."  Purslane  and  the  common  Ragweed  are  good  examples 
B  1 


2  A  MANUAL  OF   WEEDS 

of  the  first  class,  Burdock  and  Wild  Carrot  of  the  second,  and  Field 
Sorrel  and  Canada  Thistle  of  the  third.  Some  plants  that  round 
their  life-cycle  in  a  year  are  known  as  "winter  annuals"  ;  the  seeds 
that  have  matured  during  the  summer  germinating  in  the  fall,  mak- 
ing a  certain  growth  before  the  closing  in  of  winter,  and  completing 
their  development  in  the  next  summer.  To  this  class  belong  the 
hated  Penny  Cress,  or  Frenchweed,  the  Corn  Cockle,  and  the  Field 
Gromwell  or  Wheat-thief.  Obviously,  the  best  time  to  compass 
their  destruction  is  in  the  spring,  before  they  can  develop  fruiting 
stems.  Spring  plowing  or  harrowing  is  of  course  in  order,  but  it  is 
with  such  plants  as  these  that  the  newer  method  of  killing  with  a 
chemical  spray,  or  herbicide,  is  most  successful,  particularly  when 
they  appear  in  grain  fields.  The  grains  are  resistant  to  injury  from 
the  spray,  for,  being  "  center  growers,"  they  make  a  swift  recovery 
from  the  slight  harm  received  on  outside  sheath-leaves,  while  the 
tender,  outspread  foliage  of  the  weed  seedlings  is  often  totally 
destroyed. 

For  biennials,  also,  the  one  sure  means  of  destruction  is  prevention 
of  seeding.  Where  plowing  out  is  impracticable,  frequent  cutting 
must  be  practiced,  in  the  first  season  spudding  out  or  cutting  off 
the  rosettes,  or  crown  leaves,  and  in  the  second  season  mowing 
off  the  flowering  stems  before  the  formation  of  seed. 

Perennial  weeds  are  by  far  the  hardest  to  fight,  sometimes  requir- 
ing the  cultivation  of  special  hoed  crops  in  order  to  insure  their 
complete  eradication.  The  plowing  and  harrowing  given  to  ordi- 
nary field  crops  often  only  stimulate  the  growth  of  these  pernicious 
plants  by  breaking  or  cutting  the  long-lived  underground  stems  and 
inducing  them  to  send  up  new  shoots.  It  should  be  remembered 
that  their  food  reserves  are  in  fleshy  or  woody  roots,  underground 
stems,  bulbs,  or  tubers,  and  that  the  growth  above  ground  never 
seems  to  exhaust  these  hidden  stores  of  nourishment.  However, 
there  is  a  time  when  they  are  most  vulnerable. to  attack,  and  it  is 
just  at  that  stage  of  growth  when  flowering  stems  are  nearing  full 
size,  but  before  the  formation  of  seed.  They  should  then  be  plowed 
down,  or,  if  too  tall  for  that,  first  mowed  and  then  plowed  under. 
Any  and  every  plant,  even  the  sturdiest  tree,  must  die  if  kept  de- 
prived of  leaves  during  the  growing  season ;  for  it  is  in  these  green 
laboratories  that  the  food  gathered  from  soil  and  air  is  so  changed 


WHA  T  IS  A    WEED  ?  3 

and  assimilated  as  to  become  available  for  the  making  of  new  plant 
substance.     Without  leaf-growth  the  roots  must  die. 

General  principles 

1.  Allow  no  weeds  to  ripen  seeds. 

2.  Kill  while  in  the  seedling  stage  if  possible,  for  then  the  weeds 
die  most  easily  and  in  the  greatest  numbers. 

3.  Induce  autumn  germination  of  the  seeds  of  annuals  by  sur- 
face cultivation  of  fields  after  harvest.     Many  weeds  are  thus 
winter-killed  before  seeds  can  be  produced.     Following  spring  cul- 
tivation will  rid  the  ground  of  a  second  crop  of  seedlings  and  leave 
the  soil  comparatively  free  of  this  class  of  plants. 

4.  Never  plow  under  weeds  bearing  mature  seeds.     Burn  them. 
For  seeds  of  many  weeds,  particularly  of  some  of  the  most  trouble- 
some annuals,  have  great  vitality  and  may  lie  dormant  in  the  soil 
for  long  periods,  to  germinate  when  brought  to  the  surface  by  future 
cultivation.     It  is  an  old  saying  that  "One  year's  seeding  means 
seven  years'  weeding,"  but  it  may  be  much  more  than  that.     Mrs. 
Thaxter  wrote  that  in  her  Island  Garden  she  destroyed  seedlings 
of  Common  Dodder  every  season  for  twenty  years  after  the  first 
seeding.     Professor    Deal's    experiments    demonstrated    that    the 
seeds  of  Charlock  and  Purslane  will  germinate  after  lying  for  thirty 
years  in  the  soil,  and  it  is  said  that  the  seeds  of  the  Indian  Mallow 
or  Butterprint  Weed  have  survived    for  more  than  fifty    years, 
dormant  but  ready. 

5.  Thoroughly  compost  all  stable  manures  that  are  known  to 
contain  the  seeds  of  noxious  weeds.     Some  few  hard-coated  seeds 
there  may  be  which  are  able  to  survive  the  heat  and  ferment  of  the 
compost    heap.     Concerning    this,    the    Iowa    State    Experiment 
Station,  under  the  direction  of  Professor  L.  H.  Pammel,  has  carried 
out  a  series  of  valuable  experiments.     Collections  of  various  weed- 
seeds  were  made  and  placed  in  gauze  bags  in  the  heart  of  fermenting 
compost  heaps  for  periods  varying  from  five  weeks  to  six  months. 
The  result  proved  that  almost  all  seeds  so  treated  were  thoroughly 
rotted  and  their  vitality  was  destroyed.     The  process  is  a  costly  one, 
in  that  the  fermentation  which  kills  the  life-germs  in  the  seeds  also 
deprives  the  manure  of  some  of  its  most  useful  properties,  par- 
ticularly of  nitrogen,  its  most  valuable  constituent.     But  to  sow 


4  A   MANUAL   OF   WEEDS 

weed-seeds  broadcast,  with  a  fertilizer  to  help  them  to  grow,  is  still 
more  expensive.  One  advantage  of  feeding  hay  from  clean  mead- 
ows and  bedding  the  farm  animals  on  straw  from  clean  grain  fields, 
is  that  stable  manure  may  then  be  used  as  fast  as  it  is  produced, 
without  loss  of  much  of  its  fertilizing  power  from  leaching  and 
fermentation  or  expense  from  the  necessary  twice  handling. 

6.  Sow  clean  seed ;  as  near  to  perfectly  clean  as  it  is  possible  to 
make  it.     A  thousand  Clover  seeds  are  but  a  small  handful  and  will 
not  suffice  to  plant  a  square  rod  of  ground.     If,  then,  the  seeds  of 
Dodder  are  but  one  to  a  thousand  in  a  field  of  Clover,  the  crop  is 
in  danger  of  being  ruined,  and  the  land  of  being  infested  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  with  one  of  the  worst  of  noxious  weeds.     Could  the 
American  farmer  once  be  strongly  convinced  of  the  importance  of 
this  matter  of  sowing  only  the  purest  seed  obtainable,  the  worst 
stronghold  of  the  weed-army  against  which  he  fights  would  be  con- 
quered.   All  purchased  seeds  should  be  accepted  only  on  a  guaranty, 
and  even  then  should  be  examined  with  care.     It  was  undoubtedly 
by  this  agency  that  most  of  the  foreign  weeds  which  harass  the  land 
were  brought  to  our  shores  and  it  is  by  this  means  that  most  of  our 
home-grown  pests  are  carried  about  and  introduced  in  sections  not 
before  troubled  by  them.     Only  the  best  seed  is  good  enough  to 
plant,  and  the  cheapest  brand  in  the  market  is  by  far  the  most 
costly.     The  expense  of  preparing  the  land  for  a  crop  is  equal,  but 
the  cost  of  its  cultivation  and  care  is  much  increased  and  the 
returns  are  greatly  lessened  where  any  considerable  proportion  of 
the  seed  sown  produces  worthless  or  aggressively  pernicious  plants. 

7.  Be  on  the  w^atch  for  weeds  new  to  the  locality,  and  never  trust 
to  the  harmlessness  of  such  strangers.     Had  a  few  Dakota  farmers 
been  alive  to  the  danger  when  the  first  Russian  Thistles  appeared  in 
their  flax-fields,  the  spread  of  that  most  pernicious  plant  might 
have  been  prevented,  to  the  great  advantage  of  large  areas  of  the 
country.     One  of  the  services  required  by  the  State  from  each 
staff  of  Experiment  Station  workers  is  the  identification  of  weed- 
seeds  in  samples  of  seeds  submitted  and  the  proportion  of  such 
impurities.     Unknown  plants  may  also  be  sent  to  the  Stations  for 
name  and  statement  of  qualities,  and  every  farmer  has  the  right 
of  appeal  to  the  Agricultural  Department  of  his  State  for  assistance 
in  such  matters. 


WHA  T  IS  A    WEED  ?  5 

8.  Call  in  the  aid  of  grazing  animals,  particularly  sheep.     Turn- 
ing them  into  mutton  and  wool  is  a  very  profitable  way  of  fighting 
weeds.     In  stubbles  where  a  young  and  succulent  growth  of  such 
plants  usually  springs  up  after  harvest,  and  in  old  pastures  where  the 
more  dainty  neat  cattle  have  selected  the  plants  that  they  liked  best 
and  left  the  weeds  to  seed,  sheep  may  be  turned  in  and  by  their  close 
cropping  so  shear  down  the  leaf-growth  as  to  cause  many  very 
undesirable  plants  to  be  root-smothered  to  death. 

9.  Practice  rotation  of  crops.     Continued  growing  of  one  crop 
not  only  exhausts  the  soil  but  serves  to  thoroughly  infest  it  with 
the  weeds  that  most  commonly  grow  with  that  crop.     Different 
plants  take  food  from  the  soil  in  different  amounts  and  proportions, 
and  a  proper  rotation  must  be  decided  by  conditions  of  soil  and 
climate.     It  should  be  a  systematic  alternation  on  each  field  of  the 
three  general  classes  of  field  crops :   grain  crops,  cultivated  crops, 
and  grass  crops,  including  the  clovers.     The  farmer  whose  scheme 
of  rotation  is  mainly  intent  on  the  improvement  of  the  land  and 
not  on  his  immediate  profit,  will,  in  the  end,  make  the  most  money 
and  have  the  least  difficulty  in  suppressing  the  weeds.     Any  rota- 
tion should  put  much  stress  upon  a  cleansing  crop,  requiring  such 
close  care  in  cultivation  as  to  allow  no  opportunity  for  weeds  to 
grow.     This  has  fully  as  important  a  place  in  the  series  as  the  crops 
grown  solely  for  their  money  value,  or  as  the  manurial  or  feeding 
crop  which  is  intended  to  return  some  of  the  lost  fertility  to  the  soil. 

10.  More  wide-reaching  and  uniform  laws,  dealing  with  the  con- 
trol and  eradication  of  weed  plagues,  should  be  in  force.     Many 
weeds  are  in  the  noxious  class  because  they  are  so  well  equipped 
with  the  means  of  spreading  their  kind  over  large  sections  of  the 
country.     This  quality  increases  the  difficulty  and  expense  of  their 
extermination,  and  it  should  interest  the  entire  community  as  well 
as  the  individual.     If  there  are  weed-laws  already  on  the  statute 
books,  they  should  be  made  effective.     If  there  are  none,  then 
persistent  agitation  for  the  enactment  of  such  laws  should  be  carried 
on  by  the  persons  who  are  most  interested  and  who  would  be  most 
benefited  by  their  enforcement ;  namely,  the  farmers  of  the  com- 
munity. 


FINANCIAL  LOSS  DUE  TO  WEEDS 

WEEDS  cause  a  direct  money  loss  to  the  farmer  and  to  the  nation. 
In  the  first  place,  the  presence  of  weeds  in  such  abundance  as  to 
attract  notice,  reduces  the  selling  value  of  the  land.  A  prospective 
purchaser  who  sees  meadows  thickly  spangled  with  Daisies  and 
Buttercups  or  looks  over  fields  golden-yellow  with  Mustard,  red 
with  Sorrel,  or  white  with  the  lace-like  bloom  of  Wild  Carrot, 
mentally  subtracts  the  cost  of  cleaning  the  soil  of  these  pests  when 
estimating  his  offering  price.  And  this  is  as  it  should  be ;  for  before 
a  profitable  crop  could  be  obtained  from  such  ground,  much  careful 
thought  and  expensive  labor  must  go  to  the  subjugation  of  its 
enemies ;  and  the  cost  should  very  properly  be  borne  by  the  neglect- 
ful husbandman  who  first  allowed  his  land  to  be  so  abused.  Rank 
growth  of  weeds  may  indicate  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  often  the 
fitness  of  the  ground  for  particular  crops  may  be  judged  by  the  kinds 
of  weeds  found  growing  thereon ;  but,  nevertheless,  buyers  are 
prejudiced  and  would-be  sellers  must  submit  to  the  embarrassment 
of  debased  values  when  land  is  infested  to  any  considerable  extent 
by  these  pernicious  plants. 

Weeds  reduce  the  crop  yield.  It  is  this  crop  loss  that  is  most  con- 
sidered when  estimating  the  damage  suffered  from  weeds.  All 
living  plants  must  have  a  certain  amount  of  space  for  the  circulation 
of  air  and  moisture  and  to  be  open  to  the  life-giving  wTarmth  and 
light  of  the  sun.  When  crowded,  even  among  themselves,  they 
cannot  thrive ;  and  if  this  needed  space  is  to  any  extent  occupied 
by  weeds,  the  returns  from  the  crop  must  be  correspondingly  less. 
These  obnoxious  neighbors  also  steal  from  the  soil  a  large  share  of 
the  food  and  drink  belonging  to  the  rightful  tenants  of  the  ground. 
The  robbery  of  soil  moisture  is  one  of  the  chief  forms  of  injury. 
Weeds  are  notoriously  more  resistant  to  drought,  more  rapid  of 
growth,  more  sturdy  of  habit,  and  more  tenacious  of  life  than  the 
cultivated  plants  that  they  "shade  down"  or  "starve  out."  It 


FINANCIAL  LOSS  DUE   TO    WEEDS  7 

has  been  estimated  by  the  United  States  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture that  the  average  yearly  loss  due  to  weeds  in  the  crop  and 
meadow  lands  of  the  country  is  about  a  dollar  an  acre. 

The  presence  of  weeds  not  only  decreases  the  yield,  but  also 
increases  the  expense  of  harvesting  a  crop.  A  field  betangled  with 
Bindweed  or  overgrown  with  the  strong  woody  stems  of  Kinghead 
and  Thistle  enforces  extra  labor  of  draft-horses  and  extra  wear  of 
farm  machinery,  even  sometimes  compelling  the  task  to  be  done  by 
hand  work  —  the  most  expensive  form  of  labor  in  every  occupation. 
Also,  the  labor  and  consequent  cost  of  threshing  and  cleaning  the 
seed  from  a  weedy  and  inferior  crop  is  much  greater  than  for  a 
heavier  crop  that  is  clean  and  thrifty. 

The  market  value  of  the  crop  is  reduced.  A  report  from  the 
Grain  Inspection  Department  of  the  state  of  Minnesota  shows  the 
average  dockage  on  wheat  for  two  years  to  be  nineteen  ounces 
to  the  bushel.  Minnesota  produces  yearly  more  than  two  hundred 
million  bushels  of  small  grain.  A  dockage  of  but  one  pound  to  the 
bushel  means  a  loss  of  over  two  hundred  million  pounds,  and  if  the 
money  value  be  calculated  at  no  more  than  a  cent  a  pound  it  is  two 
million  dollars  yearly ;  and  this  loss  is  in  addition  to  decrease  of 
yield  and  increased  cost  of  harvest. 

Some  weeds  serve  as  host  plants  for  injurious  fungi ;  and  rust, 
smut,  and  mildew  may  be  transferred  from  them  to  the  useful 
crops.  For  example,  the  wild  Barberry  harbors  the  wheat-rust  in 
one  of  its  stages,  and  the  fungus  that  causes  the  "club-root  disease" 
of  cabbage  finds  a  host  in  several  weeds  of  the  Mustard  Family. 
Weeds  serve  too  as  nurseries  and  feeding  grounds  for  injurious 
insects.  Wild  relatives  of  the  Potato,  such  as  Ground  Cherry  and 
Horse  Nettle,  have  been  known  to  harbor  the  Potato  Stalk-borer 
through  the  winter  when  all  the  ruined  stems  of  the  cultivated 
crop  had  been  carefully  burned  in  order  to  hinder  its  appearance 
another  season.  Weedy  stubbles  are  often  a  breeding  ground  for 
cut-worms,  flea-beetles,  and  other  insect  plagues. 

Further,  much  serious  loss  is  caused  by  a  very  bad  class  of 
weeds,  possessed  of  other  and  much  worse  qualities  than  their  mere 
presence  where  they  are  not  wanted.  Some,  like  the  Death  Camas 
and  the  Water  Hemlock,  or  Cowbane,  are  poisonous,  and  cattle 
and  sheep  die  from  eating  their  young  leaves  or  juicy  tubers ; 


8  A  MANUAL  OF  WEEDS 

even  loss  of  human  life  is  sometimes  due  to  the  deadly  poison  of  the 
Hemlock,  through  the  mistaking  of  its  tuberous  roots  for  harmless 
artichokes.  In  the  Great  Plains  Region,  horses  and  cattle  are 
killed  or  made  worthless  by  the  "  Loco  Weeds."  Some  wild  grasses, 
such  as  the  Squirrel-tail  Grass,  or  Wild  Barley,  and  the  Porcupine 
Grass,  cause  injury  to  the  animals  that  graze  on  them  by  the 
lodgment  of  their  barbed  awns  in  the  lining  of  mouth,  throat,  and 
stomach,  causing  painful  inflammation,  ulceration,  and  death. 
Milk,  butter,  and  cheese  are  rendered  unmarketable  by  the  taint  of 
Wild  Onion  or  Garlic  and  the  bitter  Mustards.  Cockles  "cut  the 
grade"  of  the  wheat  and  spoil  the  flour  if  ground  with  it.  Tick- 
seeds  and  burs  yearly  lessen  the  value  of  the  wool-clip  from  the 
farmer's  flocks.  Altogether,  the  losses  sustained  by  the  American 
farmer  from  this  cause  are  greater  than  he  suspects  or  would  believe. 
A  needless  loss,  too ;  for  there  is  no  weed  so  vicious  that  it  cannot 
be  subdued,  with  profit  to  the  owner  of  the  soil,  if  its  habits  are 
well  understood  and  sufficient  determination  goes  to  the  battle. 

But  nothing  in  the  world  is  so  bad  as  to  be  entirely  evil.  It  is 
only  fair  to  admit  that  weeds  do  sometimes  perform  useful  services 
to  the  land.  Their  presence  compels  tillage,  and  the  most  profitable 
farming  is  that  which  keeps  the  ground  well  tilled.  They  form  the 
greater  part  of  the  covering  which  Nature  promptly  spreads  over 
soil  that  the  shiftless  cultivator  has  left  bare  and  neglected,  keeping 
it  from  being  blown  about  by  winds,  washed  away  by  flood  or  rain, 
or  baked  into  a  barren  desert  by  the  sun.  And  such  a  weed- 
blanket,  if  turned  under  the  ground  in  preparing  it  for  a  better  crop, 
will  supply  the  soil  with  green  manure  or  humus,  which  it  very  much 
needs.  It  is  not  the  best  type  of  feeding  crop  for  the  land,  but  it  is 
better  than  none.  It  is  well  that  Nature  is  thus  able  to  redeem  the 
sins  of  slothful  and  selfish  men,  but  her  processes  are  too  slow.  The 
world  grows  no  larger  and  its  population  increases  very  fast.  The 
surest  hope  of  its  continued  comfort  and  prosperity  lies  in  better 
husbandry. 


DISSEMINATION  OF  WEEDS 

MOST  various  are  the  ways  and  most  interesting  are  the  natural 
mechanical  appliances  by  which  plant  offspring  are  helped  to  leave 
the  place  of  their  birth  and  "  strike  out  in  the  world  for  themselves." 
All  seeds  are  great  travelers ;  they  are  carried  by  wind  and  water, 
by  wild  and  domesticated  animals,  and  by  birds;  they  journey 
by  highway  and  railroad  and  are  parts  of  steamship  cargoes.  By 
far  the  worst  culprit  of  all,  in  the  distribution  of  seeds  of  the  kind 
of  plants  most  adverse  to  his  prosperity,  is  the  farmer  himself. 

Wind-carried  seeds  are  of  many  kinds.  Some,  like  the  Dandelion, 
Milkweeds,  and  Thistles,  and  the  pernicious  Orange  Hawkweed,  are 
made  buoyant  by  a  parachute  of  fine,  downy  plumes  on  which  they 
are  lifted  and  wafted  away  on  even  the  gentlest  breeze.  In  other 
cases,  like  those  of  Tumbling  Mustard  and  Russian  Thistle,  the 
entire  plant  is  broken  off  at  its  base  or  its  shallow  roots  are  wrenched 
from  the  soil,  and  it  is  sent  rolling  and  tumbling  along  the  ground, 
shaking  out  its  seeds  as  it  goes.  Over  the  wide  levels  of  the  prairie 
states  these  weeds  travel  far,  but  they  are  not  so  much  to  be  dreaded 
in  the  much-fenced  and  uneven  country  of  the  East.  The  encrust- 
ing of  snow  in  winter  makes  a  smooth  surface  over  which  many 
s«eds  may  be  blown  abroad  that  would  not  otherwise  be  able  to 
get  far  away  from  their  parent  plant.  Some  seeds,  like  the  Docks, 
have  corky,  membranous  wings  which  not  only  help  to  upbear 
them  on  the  wind  but  also  cause  them  to  float  on  water.  Some 
plants,  like  the  Oxalis,  or  Ladies'  Sorrel,  and  the  Crane's-bill, 
are  furnished  with  spring  guns  which  shoot  the  seeds  to  some 
distance. 

Many  very  "  pesky  "  weeds  are  so  because  their  seeds  are  gifted 
by  nature  with  such  a  marvelous  variety  of  teeth,  hooks,  and  barbs, 
by  which  they  are  able  to  catch  and  cling  to  the  fur  or  wool  of 
animals  and  to  the  clothing  of  passers-by.  Burdocks  and  Cockle- 
burs,  Beggarlice,  and  the  Pitchfork  Weed,  or  Devil's  Bootjack,  are 


10  A  MANUAL  OF   WEEDS 

a  few  of  the  many  that  are  provided  with  this  means  of  helping 
themselves  to  "fresh  fields  and  pastures  new." 

Birds  may  undoubtedly  be  blamed  for  the  appearance  of  some 
weeds  in  new  locations,  particularly  when  they  are  found  springing 
up  along  telegraph  lines  or  fences.  But  birds  aid  the  farmer  far 
more  as  weed  destroyers  than  they  do  him  injury  as  weed  dis- 
seminators. Neglected  roadsides  and  lanes ;  old  pastures  where  the 
grazing  animals  have  persistently  passed  by  the  plants  that  they 
did  not  like ;  stubbles  where  weeds  have  been  permitted  to  spring 
up  and  mature  seed  after  harvest ;  borders  of  fields  and  meadows 
and  other  waste  places  of  the  land,  —  all  are  most  industriously 
gleaned  throughout  the  summer,  autumn,  and  winter  months  by 
seed-eating  birds.  Birds  have  keen  appetites  and  swift  digestion. 
It  is  safe  to  say  that  each  Goldfinch,  Song  Sparrow,  or  Snow  Bunt- 
ing needs  at  least  a  quarter-ounce  of  food  daily  to  sustain  life ;  and 
if  the  number  of  these  feathered  benefactors  average  no  more  than 
a  dozen  to  the  square  mile,  in  the  aggregate  the  amount  of  noxious 
stuff  disposed  of  would  reach  many  tons.  The  few  seeds  that  are 
dropped  in  the  culling  of  these  bird  meals  or  that  pass  uninjured 
through  the  digestive  tract  are  of  small  account  when  compared  to 
so  great  a  service. 

The  spreading  of  stable  manure  before  decomposition  j$  a  very 
common  source  of  weed  infestation;  and  the  statement  is  here 
repeated  that  it  is  better  to  lose  a  large  part  of  its  fertilizing  quality 
by  composting  all  such  material,  than  to  ensure  future  loss  and  need- 
less labor  by  such  soil  contamination. 

One  place  where  weeds  are  too  frequently  neglected  is  on  land 
belonging  to  the  community  at  large.  Along  roads,  canals,  and 
other  public  places  they  are  allowed  to  bloom  and  mature  their 
seeds,  becoming  a  menace  to  all  near-by  property,  because  "  what  is 
everybody's  business  is  nobody's  business."  The  public  sees  the 
wisdom  and  economy  of  supporting  Game  Commissioners  in  every 
county;  and  no  less  wise  an  outlay  would  be  the  appointment  of 
County  Weed  Commissioners,  to  whom  should  be  entrusted  the 
supervision,  not  only  of  the  public  domain,  but  also  of  individual 
holdings  which,  through  neglect,  might  become  a  menace  to  the 
community.  The  most  ignorant  and  careless  cultivator  of  the  land 
is  often  the  most  easy  to  offend,  and  complaint  and  correction,  as 


DISSEMINATION  OF  WEEDS  11 

well  as  instruction  in  better  methods,  would  be  more  cordially 
received  from  such  an  accredited  officer  than  from  aggrieved  neigh- 
bors. 

But  the  most  prolific  source  of  weed  infestation  in  all  parts  of  the 
country  is  in  the  sale  and  exchange  of  commercial  seeds  and 
foodstuffs.  It  is  well  known  that  the  introduction  and  subsequent 
spread  in  this  country  of  some  of  its  most  aggressive  and  unmanage- 
able land-plagues,  as  the  Orange  Hawkweed,  the  Russian  Thistle, 
and  the  Penny-cress,  or  Frenchweed,  are  due  to  this  agency.  In 
many  parts  of  the  country  the  business  is  carried  on  unchecked  by 
inspection  or  restriction  of  any  kind,  and  in  communities  possessed 
of  laws  for  such  regulation  these  are  often  inoperative  through 
negligence.  This  is  a  state  of  affairs  that  works  great  injustice  to 
both  the  merchant  and  the  farmer.  Itinerant  presses  are  hauled 
about  the  country,  putting  hay  and  straw  into  bales  convenient 
for  transportation.  When  shipped  away  for  sale,  a  hay-bale  may 
contain  a  large  percentage  of  Ox-eye  Daisy,  Yarrow,  Ragweed,  or 
Wild  Carrot,  rendering  it  unpalatable  and  innutritious  to  stock  and 
a  lasting  damage  to  the  fields  where  the  refuse  is  spread ;  yet  it  may 
bring  nearly  as  good  a  price  as  another  bale  of  clean  Timothy  or 
Blue  Grass.  Were  the  "pressmen"  obliged  by  law  to  tag  every 
bale  according  to  its  quality,  growers  would  be  made  more  heedful 
of  their  own  shortcomings,  and  salesmen  would  be  less  blamed  for  a 
matter  over  which  they  have  little  control. 

On  both  sides  of  the  steel  track,  long  green  trails,  composed  largely 
of  pernicious  kinds  of  growth,  have  been  drawn  over  the  country 
by  the  railways,  for  which  they  have  been  called  to  account  and 
obliged  to  spend  enormous  sums  yearly  in  keeping  their  rights-of- 
way  in  order.  The  cost  of  weed  removal  along  the  railways  of  the 
one  state  of  Ohio  is  placed  by  Stair  at  over  a  half-million  of  dollars 
per  annum.  Yet  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  railways  are 
merely  carriers,  probably  preferring  to  haul  good,  rather  than  bad, 
merchandise,  and  having  nothing  to  do  with  the  composition  of  the 
cargoes  that  have  leaked  and  spilled  so  much  vexation  to  the 
cultivators  along  their  routes.  The  farmer  who  blames  the  rail- 
way for  a  new  pest  in  his  fields  may  have  shipped  some  that  are 
just  as  troublesome  to  other  localities. 

Many  American  farmers  are  very  unwise  and  shortsighted  in  the 


12  A  MANUAL   OF   WEEDS 

matter  of  sowing  impure  seed.  The  labor  and  care  required  to 
remove  all  seeds  of  an  undesirable  kind,  differing  as  they  do  in  size, 
form,  and  weight,  makes  both  "grain-seed"  and  "grass-seed"  of 
first  quality  very  expensive ;  but  in  the  end  it  is  the  cheapest  of  all, 
and  no  other  should  be  sown.  Its  extra  cost  is  never  so  great  as 
to  overbalance  the  loss  from  weed-starved  crops,  requiring  extra 
labor  to  harvest,  to  say  nothing  of  infesting  the  land  itself  with  some 
long-lived  nuisance  which  it  may  take  years  to  destroy.  If  ever  a 
man  may  be  characterized  as  "penny-wise  and  pound-foolish"  it  is 
the  farmer  who,  from  ill-advised  motives  of  present  economy, 
would  so  wrong  his  own  property  and  endanger  all  neighboring 
possessions. 


CHEMICAL  HERBICIDES 

THIS  is  comparatively  a  new  way  of  fighting  weeds  and  further 
experiment  is  needed  for  discovery  of  all  its  merits.  Professor 
Henry  L.  Bolley,  Botanist  at  the  State  Experiment  Station  of 
North  Dakota,  states  that  "the  preliminary  field  trials  at  this 
Station  in  1896,  were,  perhaps,  the  first  experiments  of  the  kind 
conducted  in  any  country."  Soon  afterward  the  discovery  was 
made  in  France  by  M.  Aime  Girard  that  Copper  sulfate  would  kill 
Wild  Mustard  if  applied  when  the  foliage  was  tender.  Since  then, 
in  many  parts  of  this  country  and  Canada  and  in  European  coun- 
tries, experimenters  have  been  at  work,  trying  the  effects  on  various 
plants  of  different  chemicals,  seeking  to  find  the  reason  why  the 
treatment  succeeds  in  some  cases  and  not  in  others,  and  to  learn  how 
it  can  be  most  economically  and  effectively  used.  Such  experiment 
has  proved  the  worth  of  the  following  chemicals  as  weed-killers,  or 
herbicides : 

Common  salt  (Sodium  chloride).  This  is  the  cheapest,  handiest, 
and  safest  of  herbicides,  but  not  the  most  useful ;  for,  when  applied 
in  sufficiently  large  amounts  to  kill  a  pernicious  plant  such  as  the 
Orange  Hawkweed,  it  may  also  kill  other  plant-life  and  so  permeate 
the  soil  as  to  check  all  agricultural  growth  for  a  season.  Its  de- 
structiveness  lies  in  its  power  to  absorb  the  moisture  in  the  soil  and 
from  the  plant  tissues,  so  that  they  die  of  thirst ;  therefore,  if  it  is 
to  be  effectual,  it  should  be  applied  in  hot,  dry  weather.  Small 
areas  of  Quack  Grass  and  Canada  Thistle  may  sometimes  be 
entirely  destroyed  by  salting  freely  and  then  allowing  cattle  and 
sheep  to  bite  down  the  salted  herbage,  repeating  the  operation  as 
often  as  new  shoots  appear.  In  places  where  it  is  needful  to  expel 
all  plant  growth,  salt  may  be  used  in  the  form  of  hot  brine,  the 
solution  being  so  strong  as  to  show  forming  crystals  on  its  surface. 

Copperas,  or  Green  vitriol  (Iron  sulfate).  This  chemical,  being 
a  by-product  of  the  iron  and  steel  industry,  is  comparatively  cheap, 
13 


14  A  MANUAL   OF   WEEDS 

costing  only  about  a  cent  a  pound.  As  an  herbicide  it  should  be 
used  as  a  spray,  in  a  solution  of  about  a  hundred  pounds  to  a  barrel 
of  water  (52  gallons),  which  should  be  a  sufficient  amount  to  spread 
over  about  an  acre  of  herbage.  A  dust  spray  of  this  chemical  has 
also  been  used,  but  is  effective  only  when  the  plants  are  wet  with 
dew.  Iron  sulfate  is  particularly  useful  as  a  grain-field  herbicide, 
applied  in  dry,  clear  weather,  when  there  is  no  likelihood  that  rain 
will  wash  off  the  plants  before  the  chemical  has  done  its  work. 
Grains  and  grasses  are  very  resistant  to  injury  from  the  spray, 
partly,  no  doubt,  because  their  growth  is  from  the  center  and 
they  quickly  recover  from  such  slight  harm  as  may  have  been  done 
to  the  outer  leaves ;  also,  they  are  smoother  in  texture  than  many 
of  the  grain-field  pests,  such  as  Corn  Cockle,  Charlock,  and  King- 
head,  so  that  the  spray  does  not  cling  so  readily  to  their  slender, 
blade-like  leaves.  The  spray  must  be  applied  before  the  grain 
begins  to  "head"  or  the  weeds  to  bloom,  at  a  time  when  both  are 
making  the  most  rapid  growth,  for  then  the  grain  recovers  so  swiftly 
as  scarcely  to  receive  any  check  in  its  growth,  and  the  weeds 
succumb  most  readily  when  they  are  most  green  and  succulent. 
In  the  pea-field  also  this  spray  may  be  used  to  kill  weeds  without 
serious  injury  to  the  crop,  but  not  with  beans.  Clover  and  alfalfa 
leaves  are  blackened,  but  recover  rapidly  if  the  solution  has  not 
been  too  strong. 

When  successfully  carried  out,  this  method  of  cleaning  a  field  of 
its  undesirable  plants  pays  the  farmer  very  well ;  for  returns  from 
crops  that  have  been  relieved  from  competition  with  weeds  for  food 
and  moisture  and  space  to  grow,  are  often  half  as  large  again  as 
those  from  similar  fields  untreated,  and  are  greatly  improved  in 
quality  as  well  as  in  quantity. 

Bluestone,  or  blue  vitriol  (Copper  sulfate).  This  well-known 
fungicide  is  also  a  most  effective  herbicide,  if  used  when  the  weed 
foliage  is  young  and  tender.  The  formula  for  the  solution  is  eight 
to  twelve  pounds  of  Copper  sulfate  to  a  barrel  of  water  (52  gallons), 
using  fifty  to  seventy-five  gallons  per  acre.  Professor  Bolley  found 
twelve  pounds  of  Copper  sulfate  to  be  as  effective  as  one  hundred 
pounds  of  Iron  sulfate.  Like  that  chemical,  it  should  be  used  in 
clear  weather,  when  the  plants  are  not  likely  to  be  rain-washed  for 
at  least  twenty-four  hours,  as  such  a  bath  would  render  the  work  of 


CHEMICAL  HERBICIDES  15 

no  effect  and  require  that  it  be  done  over  again.  It  is  necessary 
that  sprays  shall  be  fine,  like  a  fog  or  a  mist,  in  order  to  be  effectual ; 
for  drops  only  roll  off  the  leaves  as  rain  would  do,  and  small  drops 
merely  make  large  ones. 

Carbolic  acid  (Phenol).  This  can  be  used  only  on  small  areas 
because  of  its  cost.  The  crude  acid  may  be  used  in  full  strength  to 
saturate  the  soil  about  the  perennial  roots  of  such  plants  as  Milk- 
weed and  Canada  Thistle.  It  does  not  corrode  metals  and  can  be 
used  with  any  sort  of  can  or  pump.  When  diluted  with  water  it 
needs  to  be  constantly  shaken  in  order  to  make  a  good  mixture. 
It  is  quick  in  action,  but  not  lasting.  The  treated  plants,  if  deeply 
rooted,  often  recover  and  send  up  new  shoots. 

Caustic  soda  (Sodium  hydrate,  or  Sodium  hydroxide).  To  be 
used  where  one  does  not  mind  killing  out  all  plant  growth  for  a 
season.  Better  than  Carbolic  acid  for  killing  Poison  Ivy,  Spread- 
ing Dogbane,  or  any  other  woody  and  deep-rooted  plants.  Apply 
in  strong  solution,  preferably  in  hot,  dry  weather,  and,  when  the 
noxious  growth  is  killed,  water  the  bare  spots  frequently  so  as  to 
assist  the  chemical  to  leach  away. 

Oil  of  vitriol  (Sulfuric  acid).  This  can  be  handled  only  in  glass 
vessels.  It  is  not  used  as  a  spray,  but  is  applied  directly  to  indi- 
vidual plants  that  are  particularly  hardy  and  pernicious.  Very 
great  care  is  necessary  in  its  use,  as  it  destroys  everything  that  it 
touches;  if  accidentally  spilled  it  may  make  painful  "burns"  on 
the  flesh  or  eat  holes  in  clothing.  It  is  not  recommended,  as  other 
chemicals  are  very  nearly  as  effective  and  are  very  much  less 
dangerous  to  handle. 

Corrosive  sublimate  (Bichloride  of  mercury).  Make  a  solution 
in  proportions  of  one  ounce  of  the  drug  to  six  gallons  of  water. 
Though  fatal  to  the  weeds,  this,  too,  is  not  to  be  recommended  for 
any  general  use  because  of  its  extremely  poisonous  nature.  Its 
cost  is  also  much  greater  than  less  dangerous  chemicals. 

Kerosene.  Crude  petroleum.  Either  of  these  will  kill  plants, 
and  the  former  is  usually  always  at  hand  in  the  farm  household. 
They  have  the  merit  of  being  safe  to  handle,  but  are  relatively 
more  costly  than  other  herbicides.  The  saturated  soil  remains 
sterile  longer  than  with  applications  of  caustic  soda  or  carbolic  acid. 

Arsenite  of  soda.     This  is  a  very  active  poison,  and  extreme  care 


16  A  MANUAL   OF   WEEDS 

must  be  exercised  in  its  use.  Do  not  inhale  the  powdered  drug 
when  making  the  solution,  or  the  spray  as  it  is  delivered ;  keep  to 
the  windward  side  while  working  with  it.  The  formula  for  the 
solution  is  one  pound  of  the  drug  in  three  to  nine  gallons  of  water. 
White  arsenic  is  cheaper  than  Arsenite  of  soda,  but  needs  to  be 
combined  with  twice  its  weight  of  Sal  soda  in  order  to  be  readily 
soluble  in  water ;  the  formula  being,  one  pound  of  White  arsenic, 
two  pounds  of  Sal  soda,  three  to  nine  gallons  of  water.  These 
arsenical  compounds  are  the  chief  ingredients  of  all  commercial 
weed-killers,  and  are  used  on  walks,  roadways,  tennis  courts,  and  all 
places  where  the  complete  and  lasting  extirpation  of  all  plant 
growth  is  required. 


DESCRIPTIVE   LIST   AND   MEANS   OF   CONTROL 


COMMON  BRAKE,  OR  BRACKEN 

Pteris  aquilina,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Eagle  Fern,  Upland  Fern,  Turkey-foot  Brake. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  spores  and  by  rootstocks. 
Season  of  leaf -production :   Early  spring  until  autumn  frosts. 
Fruiting  fronds :   Ripe  in  August. 
Range:  Throughout  the  world.     In  this  country  most  troublesome 

on  the  Pacific  Coast. 
Habitat :  Upland  fields  and  pastures,  open  woods,  and  thickets. 

Every  one  knows  the  Bracken 
under  some  name,  for  it  is  the 
most  widely  distributed  of  all 
the  ferns  and  its  distinctive, 
very  large  dull  green,  three- 
parted  fronds  are  like  no  other. 
Most  members  of  the  Fern 
Family  demand  shade  and  mois- 
ture, but  this  one  is  not  so  par- 
ticular. It  varies  much  in 
size.  In  the  Eastern  States  it 
is  usually  one  to  three  feet  tall, 
but  on  the  Pacific  Coast  it 
grows  six  to  eight  feet,  and  on 
the  moors  and  mountains  of 
Scotland  the  horns  of  the 
"stately  stag"  are  barely  to  be 
seen  above  it.  (Fig.  1.) 

Its  creeping  rootstock  is 
black,  somewhat  less  than  a 
half-inch  in  diameter,  often 
twenty  feet  or  more  long,  and 
penetrates  the  soil  deeply.  All 

c  17 


FIG.  1.  —  Common  Brake  or  Bracken 
(Pteris  aquilina).  X  |.  One  branch 
of  three-parted  frond. 


18  POLYPODIACEAE  (FERN  FAMILY) 

summer  it  continues  to  send  up  the  green,  three-parted  fronds, 
each  segment  of  which  is  in  turn  twice  divided.  The  uncurled 
crosiers  are  gray  and  softly  woolly,  and  when  unrolling  they 
resemble  the  claw  of  a  large  bird,  which  accounts  for  its  name 
of  Turkey-foot  Brake.  When  ripe  the  fruiting  fronds  have  a 
continuous  edging  of  brown  sporangia  which  at  first  are  covered 
by  the  reflexed  margin  of  the  leaf,  but  later,  as  the  spores  mature, 
this  is  pushed  away. 

Bracken  is  one  of  the  few  ferns  for  which  man  has  found  practical 
uses.  The  uncurled  crosiers  are  edible  as  "greens"  cooked  like 
asparagus ;  the  young  rootstocks  are  also  used  for  food  and  in  brew- 
ing root  beer ;  the  mature  fronds  are  cut  and  dried  to  use  as  bedding 
for  stock ;  and  in  Europe  the  plant  is  still  often  used  in  thatching 
roofs. 

Means  of  control 

"  In  June  and  in  August,  as  well  doth  appeere, 
Is  best  to  mowe  Brakes  of  all  times  of  the  Yeere," 

said  Thomas  Tusser  in  "Five  Hundred  Pointes  of  Good  Husban- 
drie,"  written  in  1557.  And  the  advice  still  holds  good,  especially 
for  grasslands  and  for  steep  hillsides  where  tillage  is  not  desirable. 
Bracken  is  quite  intolerant  of  lime  in  the  soil,  and  in  such  places 
a  liberal  dressing  of  lime,  applied  just  after  cutting  the  fern,  is  a 
check  to  its  growth  and  also  an  encouragement  to  that  of  the  grass 
and  clover.  But  plowing  and  manuring  are  the  surest  means  of 
suppressing  the  weed,  for  it  resents  cultivation.  Indeed,  hardy  as 
it  is,  transplanting  is  quite  difficult  except  when  very  young.  The 
deep-running  rootstocks  may  not  all  be  destroyed  the  first  year, 
but  two  or  three  seasons  of  such  good  tillage  as  to  suppress  all 
leaf  growth  should  entirely  kill  the  weed. 

SENSITIVE  FERN 

Onoclea  sensibilis,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Meadow  Brake,  Polypod  Brake. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  spores  and  by  rootstocks. 
Season  of  leaf-production:   April  till  first  autumn  frost. 
Fruiting  fronds :  Appear  in  June  and  July,  but  do  not  release  spores 
until  the  following  spring. 


POLYPODIACEAE  (FERN  FAMILY) 


19 


Range:    Eastern  North  America  from  Newfoundland  to  Florida 
and  westward  to  the  Mississippi  River  and  in  some  states  west. 
Habitat :  Moist  soil ;  wet  meadows,  pastures,  fields,  and  woods. 


Ferns  are  usually  associated  with  woodlands  and  thickets,  and, 
though  this  one  may  be  found  in  such  places,  it  is  equally  well 
suited  when  growing  in  open  ground,  provided  the  soil  is  not  dry. 
The  plant  frequents  the  society  of  the  Field  Horsetail  and  has  a 
bad  name  with  horsemen  and  sheep-keepers  because  of  such  com- 
pany. But  those  who  have  carefully  investigated  the  matter  say 
that  the  fern  is  not  poisonous,  the  less  noticeable  Horsetail  being 
responsible  for  the  mischief  gener- 
ally attributed  to  it.  (Fig.  2). 

The  plant  springs  from  a  creep- 
ing rootstock  which  is  about  a  third 
of  an  inch  in  thickness  and  grows 
not  far  below  the  surface,  branch- 
ing often  and  producing  new  fronds 
all  summer  until  checked  by  frost, 
to  which  it  is  very  sensitive.  It  is 
a  rather  coarse-looking  plant,  six 
inches  to  three  feet  high,  the  whole 
frond  nearly  triangular  in  outline 
but  divided  into  oblong,  lance- 
shaped,  coarsely  scalloped  segments 
at  the  end  of  a  long  stipe,  or  stalk. 
The  leaf  is  light  green  and  withers 
quickly  when  plucked.  The  fruit- 
ing fronds  are  much  shorter  than 
the  sterile  ones  ;  they  are  twice 
pinnate,  but  the  segments,  or  pin- 
nules, are  at  first  so  tightly  rolled  as 
to  completely  hide  the  sporangia  and 
look  like  rows  of  green  berries  at- 
tached to  the  midrib  ;  later  they  turn 
from  green  to  brown,  and  remain 
stiffly  standing  all  winter,  after  the  green  sterile  fronds  are  withered 
and  gone.  Indeed,  the  fruiting  fronds  of  two  or  three  successive 


**'  2"  ~ 


20  EQUISETACEAE  (HORSETAIL  FAMILY) 

seasons  may  sometimes  be  found  on  one  plant ;  but  broken  and 
empty,  for  the  spores  are  cast  and  germinate  in  the  spring. 

Means  of  control 

Drainage  of  the  ground.  The  presence  of  the  weed  is  indicative 
of  unwholesome  soil  conditions.  After  drainage,  one  or  two  sea- 
sons of  thorough  cultivation  will  destroy  the  rather  shallow-growing 
rootstocks  and  cause  the  plant  to  disappear.  Distribution  of  the 
spores  may  be  prevented  by  cutting  the  fronds  in  the  first  season, 
when  they  are  immature. 

FIELD   HORSETAIL 

Equisetum  arvense,  L. 

Other  English  names :  Meadow  Pine,  Green  Foxtail  Rush,  Pinetop, 
Pine  Grass,  Snake  Grass. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by 

spores  and   by  rootstocks  bearing 

small  tubers. 
Spore-bearing  stems  appear :   April  to 

May. 

Sterile  stems  produced:   All  summer. 
Range:     American    continent    from 

Greenland  to  Alaska,  southward  to 

Virginia  and  California. 
Habitat :  Damp  grasslands,  moist  road 

embankments. 

In  early  spring  one  may  note  large 
colonies  of  the  fertile  stems  of  these 
plants,  mere  cylindrical,  light  brown, 
leafless  stalks,  four  to  eight  inches 
high,  jointed,  hollow,  and  tipped  with 
yellowish,  club-shaped,  spore-bearing 
heads.  Each  joint  is  ridged  and 
grooved  and  edged  with  a  brown 
sheath,  notched  with  eight  to  a  dozen 
teeth.  The  joints  readily  pull  apart. 
These  early,  fertile  plants  scatter  their 

FIG.  3. -Field  Horsetail  (Equi-     SPor.es  to  the  ™ds  and  wither  an<* 
setum  arvense).    x  i.  die  in  a  few  weeks.     But  later,  from 


GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY)  21 

the  same  perennial,  creeping,  jointed,  and  branching  rootstocks, 
spring  the  green,  plume-like,  sterile  stems  known  as  Horse- 
tails (Fig.  3).  These  are  eight  inches  to  more  than  a  foot 
tall,  also  hollow  and  jointed,  but  having  whorls  of  simple  rough 
branches  issuing  from  the  base  of  each  sheath ;  the  branches  are 
usually  four-angled,  but  sometimes  have  only  three  sides,  and  are 
jointed  but  not  hollow.  These  green  Horsetails  are  the  food-as- 
similating, starch-making  parts  of  the  plant  and  keep  busy  all 
summer,  storing  the  creeping  rootstocks  with  nutriment  for  the 
next  year's  fruiting  stems. 

The  Horsetail  is  poisonous  —  most  dangerously,  sometimes 
fatally,  so  to  horses,  and  in  a  much  less  degree  to  sheep,  causing  in 
the  flocks  merely  a  thin,  unthrifty  appearance  and  lack  of  good 
condition.  Strangely  enough,  neat  cattle  seem  to  be  able  to  digest 
the  weed  without  injury.  The  state  of  Vermont,  where  horse- 
raising  is  so  great  an  industry,  credits  to  this  plant  a  loss  of  some 
thousands  of  dollars  annually. 

Means  of  control 

Drain,  fertilize,  and  cultivate  the  ground.  The  plant  thrives 
best  in  sandy  or  gravelly  soil  that  is  moist  during  the  early  part  of 
the  season,  or  where  the  soil  water  approaches  near  the  surface.* 
Drainage,  and  two  or  three  seasons  of  good,  thorough  tillage,  will 
drive  it  out ;  for,  though  the  rootstocks  are  deeper  in  the  ground 
than  ordinary  cultivation  penetrates,  yet  they  will  starve  and  die  if 
kept  deprived  of  the  green,  food-assimilating,  sterile  stems.  Plants 
of  waste  places  should  receive  attention,  to  the  destruction  of 
both  fertile  and  sterile  shoots,  as  the  wind-carried  spores  may 
start  new  infestations. 

VIRGINIA  BEARD-GRASS 

Andropogon  virglnicus,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Broom  Sedge.    Sedge-grass. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:    Late  August  to  October. 

Range:    Massachusetts  to  Illinois  and  southward  to  Florida  and 

Texas.     Most  abundant  and  troublesome  in  the  South. 
Habitat:   Meadows,  pastures;   grain,  corn,  and  cotton  fields. 


22  ORAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 

Broom  Sedge  is  a  southern  weedy  grass  which  is  extending  its 
range  northward,  It  grows  in  thick  tufts,  the  stems  attaining  a 
height  of  three  to  five  feet,  very  light  green  when  young  and  turn- 
ing to  a  brownish  yellow  as  they  ripen,  at  all  times  very  conspicuous 
among  other  grasses.  Stems  slender,  flattened  at  the  base,  and 
sparingly  branched  above.  Sheaths  smooth  except  for  a  slight 
hairiness  at  the  edge ;  leaves  six  inches  to  a  foot  long  and  less  than 
a  quarter-inch  wide,  with  rough  edges  and  upper  surface  somewhat 
hairy  near  the  base.  The  flowering  spikes  are  usually  in  pairs, 
sometimes  in  threes,  about  an  inch  long,  protruding  from  smooth 
spathes  which  are  longer ;  they  are  slender  and  flexuous,  the  joints 
and  pedicels  covered  with  long,  silky  hairs.  Seeds  light  yellow, 
about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  long,  oat-like  in  form,  with  a  tuft  of 
fine  hair  at  the  base,  and  at  the  tip  an  awn  nearly  half  an  inch  in 
length.  These  hairy  attachments  help  the  seeds  to  be  widely 
sown  by  the  winds. 

Means  of  control 

In  newly  infested  ground  it  will  pay  to  grub  out  the  tufts  when 
they  are  first  observed,  their  light  color  noticeably  contrasting  with 
other  grasses.  In  any  case  they  should  be  cut  while  in  early  bloom, 
or  even  before  flowering  in  order  to  make  certain  that  no  seeds  may 
be  developed.  But  if  seeds  have  ripened  and  fallen,  burn  over  the 
ground  so  as  to  destroy  such  as  are  on  its  surface,  and  put  the  field 
under  cultivation  in  order  to  kill  the  roots,  following  the  cultivated 
crop  with  clover.  In  localities  where  this  weed  is  most  aggressive, 
short  rotations,  with  very  thorough  tillage,  are  necessary  in  order 
to  prevent  it  from  possessing  the  land. 


JOHNSON-GRASS 

Sorghum  halepense,  Pers. 
(Andropdgon  halepensis,  Brot.) 

Other  English  names:  Means-grass,  Syrian-grass,  Aleppo-grass, 
False  Guinea-grass,  Egyptian-grass,  Morocco  Millet,  Arabian 
Millet,  Evergreen  Millet. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom :   Early  June  to  July. 


GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY}  23 

Seed-time :  July  to  August  to  September ;  when  cut  for  hay  crop, 
both  blooming  and  seeding  time  may  be  retarded. 

Range:  Southern  part  of  United  States  to  latitude  of  Tennessee, 
westward  to  California,  and  along  Pacific  Coast  to  Oregon  and 
Washington. 

Habitat:   Fields,  meadows,  waste  places. 


About  1830  there  came  to  Governor  Means,  of  South  Carolina,  a 
message  from  the  Sultan  of  Turkey,  requesting  that  an  instructor  in 
the  art  of  raising  cotton  be  sent  to  the  Ottoman  Empire.  Two  or 
three  years  later,  when  the  instructor  returned,  he  brought  with 
him  the  seeds  of  a  number  of  plants  that  seemed  to  him  to  be  of 
economic  value,  and  among  them  was  this  grass.  An  Alabama 
planter,  Colonel  William  Johnson,  while  on  a  visit  to  South  Caro- 
lina, became  interested  in  the  new  plant,  obtained  a  quantity  of 
seed,  and  raised  it  extensively  on  his  plantation  in  the  fertile  bottom 
lands  of  the  Alabama  River.  Since  then  it  has  spread  over  about 
half  of  the  United  States,  and  but  for  the  fact  that  it  is  a  tropical 
plant,  likely  to  be  winterkilled  where  the  ground  freezes  to  any 
depth,  it  might  have  possessed  the  land  to  a  much  greater  extent. 
And,  once  established,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  control  it  because 
of  its  deep-running,  branching  rootstocks.  Added  to  the  difficulty 
of  control  is  the  fact  that,  like  all  the  Sorghums,  the  plant  occasion- 
ally develops  a  poisonous  quality,  due  to  the  presence  of  hydrocyanic 
acid.  Complaints  of  the  deaths  of  cattle  and  horses  from  this  cause 
come  mostly  from  the  Pacific  Coast,  where  the  growth  of  the  grass 
on  irrigated  ground  is  especially  rank.  In  India,  where  the  plant 
is  much  used  as  fodder  for  cattle,  it  has  been  noted  that  deaths 
frequently  occur  when,  because  of  the  failure  of  rain,  plants  that 
have  reached  a  good  size  become  wilted.  When  a  rainfall  comes, 
the  poisonous  principle  disappears ;  just  what  condition  develops 
it  is  not  known. 

Culms  large  and  stout,  about  a  half -inch  thick  at  base,  and  ordi- 
narily five  or  six  feet  tall  but  may  reach  a  height  of  eight  or  nine 
feet ;  pith  filled  with  sugary  juice.  Sheaths  smooth ;  leaves  a  foot 
or  more  long,  about  an  inch  wide,  smooth,  and  flat.  Panicles  very 
large  and  loose,  the  branches  whorled  and  spreading,  naked  at  base ; 
spikelets  in  groups  of  three,  the  central  one  sessile  and  fertile,  some- 
times bearing  an  awn,  usually  bent,  the  glume  purplish,  covered 


24  GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 

with  fine  appressed  hair;  the  two  lateral  spikelets  have  pedicels 
and  are  staminate  or  empty.  So  rapid  a  grower  is  the  grass  that 
two,  three,  even  four,  heavy  crops  of  hay 
may  be  harvested  yearly,  if  cut  before  it 
blooms ;  the  hay  is  much  relished  by  all 
kinds  of  stock  and  is  very  fattening ;  even 
the  rootstocks  are  tender  and  sweet,  and 
hogs  eat  them  eagerly ;  were  it  not  so  ag- 
gressive it  would  be  a  most  valued  plant. 
(Fig.  4.) 

Means  of  control 

With  a  view  toward  finding  some 
means  of  eradication,  J.  S.  Gates,  of  the 
Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  at  Washington, 
was  employed  by  the  Government  to  make 
a  special  study  of  the  plant,  and  the  results 
of  his  experiments  and  conclusions  are 
embodied  in  Farmers'  Bulletin  279  of  the 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture.  He 
states  that  the  rootstocks  are  of  three 
kinds,  which  he  classifies  as  primary, 
secondary,  and  tertiary. 

"Primary  rootstocks  embrace  all  the 
rootstoeks  alive  in  the  ground  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  growing  season  in  the  spring. 

"Secondary  rootstoeks  are  those  which 
arise  from  the  primaries,  come  to  the  sur- 
FIG.  4.  —  Johnson-grass  face  and  there  form  crowns,  thus  producing 
(Sorghum  halepense).  X  i  new  plants. 

"A  tertiary  rootstock  is  one  starting  later 

hi  the  season,  about  flowering  time,  from  the  base  of  the  crown  of  this 
new  plant. 

"These  tertiary  rootstocks,  when  the  ground  is  soft,  and  especially 
when  a  large  top  is  allowed  to  develop,  grow  to  a  large  diameter  and 
penetrate  to  a  great  depth,  sometimes  as  much  as  four  feet  and  normally 
from  fifteen  to  thirty  inches ;  at  other  times,  when  the  soil  is  compact, 
and  especially  when  the  plant  above  ground  is  not  allowed  to  develop 
by  reason  of  mowing  or  grazing,  or  both,  the  tertiary  rootstocks  grow 
to  but  small  diameter  and  run  along  just  under  the  surface,  cropping 
out  at  intervals  to  form  new  plants.  Our  observations  indicate  that 


OR A  MINE 'AE  (GRASS  FAMILY)  25 

the  primary  rootstocks  (i.e.,  those  that  were  in  the  ground  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  growing  season  in  spring)  all  decay  in  the  fall,  after  the 
growing  season  is  over.  Their  strength  has  been  taken  up  in  the 
formation  of  secondary  rootstoeks  and  above-ground  growth.  In 
other  words,  the  old  rootstoeks  do  not  live  over  a  second  winter. 
Only  the  new  ones  (secondaries  and  tertiaries)  do  this.  Under  our 
classification,  secondary  and  tertiary  rootstoeks  become  primary 
rootstoeks  at  the  beginning  of  the  next  season  after  then-  formation, 
and  they,  in  their  turn,  send  out  secondary  growth  to  reach  the  sur- 
face ;  the  plant  formed  at  the  surface  then  sends  out  from  the  base 
of  its  crown,  about  the  time  it  blossoms,  the  large,  deep-burrowing 
tertiary  rootstoeks  which,  in  the  soft  land  of  the  cultivated  cotton  and 
corn  fields,  cause  so  much  mischief  the  following  year.  The  longer  the 
plants  are  allowed  to  stand  after  blossoming,  the  larger  and  deeper  these 
tertiary  stems  become." 

Acting  on  this  study  of  the  rootstock  habits  of  Johnson-grass, 
Mr.  Gates  advises  the  turning  of  infested  land  into  meadow  or 
pasture  and  keeping  it  so  persistently  mown  or  grazed  as  to  allow 
it  no  opportunity  for  bloom ;  then  the  tertiary  growth  of  rootstoeks 
will  be  small  and  near  the  surface,  enabling  the  farmer  to  clean  out 
the  grass  the  next  year  by  a  little  extra  care  in  plowing  and  cul- 
tivating. As  a  soiling  crop  the  grass  may  be  cut  every  month 
from  May  until  November,  and  this  will  leave  little  energy  to  be 
given  to  the  formation  of  the  deeper  rootstocks. 

Professor  Killebrew,  of  the  Tennessee  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station,  says  that  the  way  to  keep  the  grass  in  subjection  is  to  plow 
the  land  and  allow  hogs  to  pasture  on  the  juicy  rootstocks,  which 
they  like  better  than  artichokes.  Rotation  with  winter  grains, 
such  as  oats,  barley,  or  rye,  is  practiced  in  many  sections,  wheat 
being  too  late  in  maturing.  The  ground  is  plowed  in  late  summer 
and  as  many  of  the  rootstocks  are  harrowed  out  as  possible ;  then 
the  grain  is  sown  in  early  fall  and  harvested  in  the  spring,  before 
blooming  time  for  the  grass,  after  which  three  crops  of  Johnson- 
grass  hay  may  be  cut  during  the  summer. 

Professor  Spillman,  Agrostologist  of  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Indus- 
try, believes  the  best  plan  to  be  the  sowing  of  infested  land  with 
alfalfa,  after  harrowing  out  as  many  of  the  rootstocks  as  possible, 
early  in  the  fall,  in  order  to  allow  the  alfalfa  to  get  a  good  start  be- 
fore winter.  The  next  season  cut  promptly,  whenever  the  grass  is 
tall  enough  to  make  a  fair  crop  of  hay.  This  treatment  encourages 
the  clover  and  discourages  the  grass,  which  will  finally  be  crowded 


26  GBAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 

out.  Professor  Spillman  succeeded  in  cleansing  a  plot  of  Johnson- 
grass  in  one  year,  without  loss  of  the  use  of  the  ground,  by  a  sys- 
tem of  fall  plowing,  with  a  turning  plow  capable  of  turning  every 
inch  of  the  sod,  harrowing  thoroughly  for  the  purpose  of  loosening 
the  soil,  and  then  removing  the  rootstocks  with  an  implement  called 
a  root-digger,  or  grass-hoe.  This  method  is  discussed  in  detail  in 
Bulletin  72  of  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry. 

CRAB-GRASS 

Digitaria  sanguinalis,  Scop. 
(Syntherisma  sanguinalis,  Nash.) 

Other  English  names :  Finger  Grass,  Polish  Mil- 
let, Purple  or  Large  Crab-grass. 

Introduced.  Annual.  Propagates  by  seeds  and 
by  rooting  at  the  lower  joints. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range :   Throughout  the  world. 

Habitat :   Cultivated  ground,  waste  places. 

The  seeds  of  this  grass  must  be  very  long- 
lived,  for,  though  it  is  never  sown,  let  the 
ground  be  cultivated,  and  as  a  general  thing 
Crab-grass  will  be  there.  In  the  Southern  States 
this  is  regarded  as  a  good  thing,  for  the  spon- 
taneous growth  of  the  grass  in  grain  fields  after 
harvest  often  yields  a  heavy  crop  of  nutritious 
hay  and  good  pasturage  after  that.  It  is  in 
gardens,  lawns,  and  cultivated  ground  that 
the  plant  makes  itself  a  plague,  particularly  in 
a  moist  season.  (Fig.  5.) 

Culms  one  to  four  feet  long,  decumbent  or 
creeping  at  base,  and  putting  forth  roots  wher- 
ever the  joints  are  in  touch  with  moist  soil. 
Sheaths  and  basal  part  of  the  blades  rough  and 
more  or  less  hairy,  the  blades  three  to  six  inches 
long  and  a  quarter  to  a  half -inch  wide.  Spikes 
grass°  (Digitaria  saw-  usua^y  three  to  six  in  number  but  occasionally 
guinalis).  x  \.  as  many  as  ten,  two  to  five  inches  long,  gener- 


GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY)  27 

ally  purplish  or  reddish  brown,  arranged  in  a  whorl  at  the  end  of 
the  stalk  like  the  fingers  of  a  hand.  Spikelets  in  pairs,  one  sessile, 
the  other  having  a  minute  pedicel.  The  seeds  are  very  nutritious, 
and  in  Germany  and  Poland  they  are  used  for  a  table  viand, 
cooked  in  milk,  like  sago. 

Means  of  control 

Nothing  but  careful  hand  labor  will  clean  Crab-grass  out  of  a 
garden  or  cultivated  field ;  and  it  needs  to  be  cast  into  a  fire  or  a 
compost  heap,  for  an  uprooted  stem  left  on  the  ground  promptly 
takes  root  again.  In  lawns  the  grass  must  be  hand-pulled,  for 
pieces  scattered  by  lawn-mowers  are  likely  to  take  root  and  in- 
crease the  pest.  But  if  the  plant  is  not  allowed  to  develop  seed, 
two  or  three  seasons  of  careful  weeding  should  clean  it  from  the  soil. 

SMALL   OR   SMOOTH   CRAB-GRASS 

Digitaria  humifusa,  Pers. 
(Syntherisma  linedris,  Nash.) 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:   Nova  Scotia  to  South  Dakota,  southward  to  Florida  and 

Louisiana. 
Habitat:   Lawns,  pastures,  and  waste  places. 

Culms  six  to  eighteen  inches  long,  smooth,  slender,  usually 
decumbent  at  base,  much  branched  and  spreading.  Leaves  one  to 
three  inches  long,  very  narrow  and  pointed.  Spikes  two  to  four 
inches  long,  two  to  six  in  number,  digitate  at  the  end  of  the  stalk 
or  one  or  two  near  the  summit,  very  slender,  one-sided.  Spikelets 
.usually  in  pairs,  one  sessile  or  nearly  so,  the  other  short-pediceled. 
The  whole  plant  of  a  reddish  color ;  less  troublesome  than  the 
preceding  species  for  it  does  not  root  at  the  joints. 

Means  of  control 

Cutting  so  persistently  as  to  prevent  seed  production.  Top- 
dressing  and  enriching  the  ground  will  enable  the  better  grasses 
and  clovers  to  crowd  out  the  annual  weed. 


28 


QRAMINEAE   (GRASS  FAMILT) 


OLD   WITCH   GRASS 

Pdnicum  capillare,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Tumbleweed  Grass,  Tickle  Grass,  Witch's 

Hair. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:  July  to  September. 
Seed-time :   Late  August  to  November. 
Range :  Nova  Scotia  to  British  Columbia,  southward  to  Florida  and 

Mexico. 
Habitat :   Sandy  soil ;   fields  and  waste  places. 

Culms  stout,  erect,  or  with  decum- 
bent base,  branched  and  spreading, 
one  to  two  feet  in  height.  Sheaths 
very  hairy,  the  blades  somewhat  less 
so,  the  latter  a  quarter-inch  to 
nearly  an  inch  wide  and  six  inches 
to  a  foot  long.  Panicles  very  large 
and  spreading,  the  terminal  one  often 
more  than  a  foot  long,  the  branch- 
lets  hair-like,  the  spikelets  very 
small,  containing  one  tiny,  shining 
grayish  brown  seed.  When  mature, 
the  branches  become  very  stiff  and 
brittle  and  the  large  panicles  break 
away  and  are  driven  before  the 
winds  for  long  distances,  often 
piling  in  thick  windrows  against 
fences.  In  these  journeys  the  seed- 
bearing,  hair-like  but  brittle  branch- 
lets  are  broken  from  the  stalks  and 
the  ground  over  which  the  tumblers 
roll  is  well  seeded.  In  good  sod  the 
seed  seldom  "  catches,"  but  on 

stubbles  and  cultivated  ground  the  plant  is  a  troublesome  weed. 

(Fig.  6.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production  by  mowing,  hoe-cutting  or  hand-pulling 
while  in  bloom  or  before. 


FIG.  6.  —  Old  Witch  Grass  (Pan- 
icum  capillare).     X  J. 


GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 


29 


SPROUTING  PANIC-GRASS 

Pdnicum  dichotomifldrum,  Michx. 
(Pdnicum  proliferum,  Lam.) 

Other  English  names :  Sprouting  Crab-grass,  Knee-grass,  Spreading 
Panicum. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:    Late   August  to  No- 
vember. 

Range :  Maine  to  Nebraska,  south- 
ward to  Florida  and  Texas. 

Habitat:    Moist,  rich  soil;    fields 
and  waste  places. 

A  large,  coarse  grass,  the  culms 
stout,  flattened,  succulent,  at  first 
erect,  two  to  three  feet  high,  later 
becoming  decumbent  and  genicu- 
late,  the  stalks  lengthening,  some- 
times to  six  feet,  branching,  and 
sending  up  flowering  stalks  at  all 
the  upper  joints.  Sheaths  loose, 
smooth,  flattened,  the  ligule  a  ring 
of  hairs ;  blades  six  to  eighteen 
inches  long,  a  quarter-inch  to  an 
inch  wide,  rough  on  the  edges  and 
the  central  nerve.  Panicles  large, 
spreading,  six  inches  to  more  than 
a  foot  in  length,  the  spikelets 
crowded,  brown  or  purplish,  the 
seeds  resembling  those  of  Old 
Witch  but  larger.  Cattle  and 
horses  are  fond  of  the  succulent, 
sweetish  stems  when  young,  but  it 
soon  becomes  hard  and  innutri- 
tions, and  nearly  worthless  as  dry 
forage.  (Fig.  7.) 


FIQ.   7.  —  Sprouting   Panic-grass 
(Panicum  dichotomiflorum) .    X  \. 


Means  of  control 
Close  cutting  before  seed  development. 


30  GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 

SWITCH-GRASS 

Pdnicum  virgatum,  L. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 
Time  of  bloom :  August  to  September. 
Seed-time :   September  to  October. 

Range:  Maine  to  Manitoba,  southward  to  Florida  and  Mexico. 
Habitat :   Sandy  soil ;   prairies,  in  the  interior ;    salt  marshes  along 
the  coast ;   banks  of  streams,  low  meadows. 

In  many  places  where  the  soil  may  be  in  danger  of  washing,  the 
strong,  creeping  rootstocks  of  this  grass  make  it  valuable  as  a  binder, 
and  its  hard,  thickly  tufted  stalks  serve  as  a  check  to  drifting  sands 
in  the  marshes  along  the  coast.  But  as  forage  it  is  practically 
worthless,  except  when  very  young,  and  it  is  an  undesirable  occu- 
pant of  meadows  and  pastures. 

Culms  three  to  five  feet  tall,  smooth,  often  glaucous.  Sheaths 
smooth ;  blades  a  foot  or  more  long,  about  a  half-inch  wide,  smooth, 
flat,  slightly  rough  on  the  margins.  Panicles  very  large,  erect,  six 
to  twenty  inches  long,  spreading,  pyramidal,  purple  when  in  bloom. 
Spikelets  one-seeded,  ovate,  pointed,  about  a  sixth  of  an  inch  long, 
very  numerous. 

Means  of  control 

Where  practicable  the  rootstocks  may  be  destroyed  most  readily 
by  cultivation  of  the  ground  for  one  or  two  seasons.  Early  and 
frequent  cutting  is  necessary  in  order  to  secure  the  forage  while 
in  good  condition  and  to  prevent  the  development  of  seed ;  at  the 
same  time  such  treatment  will  starve  the  rootstocks. 


BARNYARD   GRASS 

Echindchloa  crus-gdlli,  Beauv. 
(Pdnicum  crus-gdlli,  L.) 

Other  English  names:   Cockspur  Grass,  Cocksfoot  Panicum. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:  August  to  October. 

Range:  All  cultivated  regions  of  the  world. 

Habitat :   Moist,  rich  soil ;   gardens,  fields,  and  waste  places. 


GBAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 


31 


The  Indians  of  Arizona  and  Southern  California  use  the  seed  of 
this  grass  for  food ;  cattle  are  very  fond  of  it  when  green  and  suc- 
culent ;  and  in  some  parts  of  the  country, 
particularly  in  the  flooded  river-bottom 
lands  of  the  Southwest,  it  yields  heavy  vol- 
unteer crops  of  hay.  But  generally  it  is 
considered  a  weed.  Its  seed  is  nearly 
always  found  with  that  of  other  grasses 
and  of  clover.  (Fig.  8.) 

Culms  stout,  smooth,  two  to  five  feet 
tall.  Sheaths  compressed,  smooth ;  blades 
six  inches  to  nearly  two  feet  long,  a  half- 
inch  to  an  inch  wide,  smooth,  with  a 
strong  central  nerve  and  margins  some- 
what rough.  Panicle  large,  four  inches 
to  a  foot  or  more  long,  variable,  composed 
of  numerous  sessile  branches,  erect  or 
spreading,  or  the  lower  ones  reflexed. 
Spikelets  one-seeded,  nearly  sessile,  ovate, 
in  three  or  four  irregular,  densely  crowded 
rows  on  one  side  of  the  rachis,  varying  in 
color  from  deep  purple  to  pale  green,  some- 
times long-awned,  but  often  without 
awns,  the  glumes  unequal,  sharp-pointed, 
and  bristly-hairy.  Seeds  about  an  eighth 
of  an  inch  long,  pointed  ovoid,  plump. 


FIG.  8.  —  Barnyard 
grass  (Echinochloa  crus- 
galli).  X  J. 


Means  of  control 

Cutting  so  frequently  that  no  seed  can  mature.  In  cultivated 
ground  the  weed  is  easily  kept  in  subjection  by  hoe-cutting  while 
small. 

YELLOW  FOXTAIL   GRASS 
Setaria  glauca,  Beauv. 

Other  English  names:    Pigeon  Grass,  Pussy  Grass,  Summer  Grass, 

Wild  Millet. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 
Seed-time:   August  to  October. 


32  GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 

Range:  All  cultivated  regions  of  the  world. 
Habitat:  All  soils;   invades  any  crop. 

The  seeds  of  this  weed  are  among  the  most  frequent  impurities 
of  other  grass  seeds  and  of  clover  and  grain.  It  was  probably  in 
such  company  that  it  came  to  us  from  Europe,  with  the  early  set- 
tlers. Once  in  the  soil,  it  retains  its  vitality  for  years,  springing  up 
whenever  brought  near  enough  to  surface 
warmth  and  light.  Cattle  will  eat  it  when 
young  but  it  soon  becomes  woody  and 
worthless.  Birds  and  poultry,  especially 
turkeys,  are  very  fond  of  the  seeds,  which 
they  strip  from  the  stalks.  (Fig.  9.) 

Culms  branching  from  the  base,  growing 
from  fibrous  and  clustered  roots,  usually 
one  to  four  feet  tall — though  when  started 
late,  and  pressed  for  time,  Foxtail  matures 
seed  when  no  more  than  three  inches  high ; 
stalks  compressed  at  the  base,  sometimes 
decumbent.  Sheaths  loose,  compressed, 
the  lower  ones  often  tinged  with  red; 
blades  three  to  six  inches  long,  nearly  a 
half-inch  wide,  flat,  smooth,  and  hanging 
with  a  twist.  Spikes  two  to  four  inches 
long,  the  spikelets  closely  crowded,  one- 
seeded,  subtended  by  an  involucral  cluster 
of  six  to  ten  upwardly  barbed,  brownish 
yellow  bristles  much  longer  than  the 
spikelets.  Seeds  with  palea  and  finely 
wrinkled  lemma  both  adherent,  yellowish 

FIG.  9. -Yellow  Foxtail     brOWn'    lonS   OV°id'    ab°Ut    a    tenth    °f   an 
(Setaria  glauca).     X  i-       inch  in  length. 

Means  of  control 

In  grain  fields,  stubbles  should  be  given  surface  cultivation; 
or,  if  the  soil  is  dry  enough,  burning  over  will  destroy  the  seeds  that 
have  fallen  on  the  ground.  In  cultivated  crops  tillage  should  be 
continued  very  late,  in  order  to  prevent  the  development  and  dis- 


GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY)  33 

tribution  of  seed  from  tardily  grown  plants.     Sheep  may  be  turned 
in  to  graze  down  the  aftermath  of  infested  meadows. 

BRISTLY   FOXTAIL 

Setaria  verticillata,  Beauv. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:  August  to  October. 

Range:  Nova  Scotia  to  Ontario,  and  eastern  part  of  United  States 

to  New  Jersey  and  Kentucky. 
Habitat :  Fields,  gardens,  and  waste  places. 

Growing  in  tufts  from  fibrous  roots  like  the  preceding  species, 
but  lower  and  more  spreading,  the  culms 
ten  inches  to  two  feet  tall,  usually  de- 
cumbent at  base,  more  or  less  branched. 
Leaves  two  to  eight  inches  long,  from  a 
quarter-inch  to  a  half-inch  wide,  rough 
on  the  upper  surface.  Spikes  two  to 
four  inches  long,  the  involucral  bristles 
at  the  base  of  the  one-seeded  spikelets 
being  in  pairs,  stout,  and  downwardly 
barbed,  standing  out  almost  at  right 
angles  to  the  spike.  These  downward 
barbs  cause  the  seeds  to  adhere  to  the 
wool  of  sheep,  which  the  seeds  of  other 
Foxtails  do  not  do. 

Like  the  preceding  species,  this  weed 
is  controlled  by  preventing  seed  pro- 
duction. 

GREEN  FOXTAIL 
Setaria  viridis,  Beauv. 

Other  English  name:   Bottle  Grass. 

Introduced.  Annual.  Propagates  by 
seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range :  Throughout  North  America  ex- 
cept the  far  North.  FIG.  10.  —  Green  Foxtail 

Habitat:   All  soils;   invades  all  crops.  (Setaria  viridis).     X  J. 


34  GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 

Culms  one  to  three  feet  tall,  erect,  usually  simple  but  sometimes 
branched,  growing  in  tufts.  Sheaths  smooth ;  blades  three  to  ten 
inches  long,  one-fourth  to  one-half  inch  wide,  rough  on  the  margins, 
dark  green.  Spikes  two  to  four  inches  in  length,  rather  thick,  the 
involucral  bristles  subtending  the  spikelets  being  nearly  a  half-inch 
long,  two  to  six  for  each  flower,  green  or  sometimes  yellowish, 
barbed  upward.  Seed  similar  to  that  of  Yellow  Foxtail  but  slightly 
smaller,  very  common  in  clover  seed.  Also  it  seems  a  worse  pest  in 
lawns  and  gardens  than  either  of  its  relatives.  (Fig.  10.) 

Means  of  control 

Hoe-cutting  or  hand-pulling  while 
the  tufts  are  small,  in  lawns  and  gar- 
dens ;  surface  cultivation  or  burning 
over  of  stubbles  after  harvest;  pre- 
vention of  seeding  in  all  ways  possible. 

SAND-BUR 

Cenchrus  tribulmdes,  L. 

Other  English  names :  Hedgehog  Grass, 
Bur  Grass,  Cockspur  Bur,  Sandspur, 
Bear  Grass. 

Native.  Annual.   Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 

Seed-time:  July  to  September. 

Range:  Maine  and  Ontario  to  the 
Dakotas,  southward  to  Florida, 
Texas,  and  Southern  California; 
most  troublesome  in  the  South. 
Habitat :  Sandy  soil ;  shores  and  waste 
places. 

Usually  this  grass  may  be  found 
growing  near  any  place  where  wool 
has  been  stored  and  cleaned.  The 
burs  are  said  to  be  more  difficult  to 
remove  from  the  fleeces  than  any 
others,  and  a  tribulation  they  must  be 

FIG.  ll.-Sand-bur(CencAru«     to    the    POOr    beasts 
tribidoides).    x  1.  they  rankle. 


GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY)  36 

Culms  ten  inches  to  two  feet  in  length,  with  many  branches,  the 
longer  ones  spreading  and  decumbent  for  part  of  their  length,  the 
shorter  ones  erect.  Sheaths  very  loose,  slightly  flattened,  smooth 
but  with  hairy  margins,  the  ligule  conspicuously  fringed ;  blades 
two  to  five  inches  long,  smooth,  usually  flat  but  sometimes  involute. 
Racemes  bearing  eight  to  twenty  clusters  of  two  to  six  flowers,  the 
clusters  subtended  by  ovoid  or  globular  involucres  which  later 
enclose  the  seeds,  forming  hairy  burs  about  a  quarter-inch  in  diam- 
eter, thickly  set  with  stiff,  sharp,  finely  barbed  prickles,  which 
are  strong  enough  to  penetrate  shoe  leather.  (Fig.  11.) 

Means  of  control 

Small  areas  about  sheep-washing  places  should  be  hoe-cut,  hand- 
pulled,  or  burned  over  before  the  burs  ripen.  A  sandy  pasture 
or  meadow  infested  with  the  weed  should  be  burned  over,  culti- 
vated, and  fertilized  before  reseeding  to  better  growths.  As  a 
waste-land  weed,  a  whole  neighborhood  should  be  interested  in  its 
extirpation  because  of  its  habit  of  making  any  passing  animal  or 
person  its  carrier  to  a  new  field. 

RICE   CUT-GRASS 

Leersia  oryzoldes,  Sw. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom :   August  to  September. 

Seed-time :   September  to  October. 

Range:    Newfoundland  to  western  Ontario,  southward  to  Florida 

and  Texas. 
Habitat:  Swamps,  and  along  streams  and  ditches. 

A  bothersome  weed  in  open  ditches,  which  are  frequently  clogged 
by  the  dense,  tangled  masses  of  its  interlacing  rootstocks.  Culms 
two  to ,  four  feet  long,  rather  stout,  decumbent  at  base,  much 
branched.  Sheaths  shorter  than  the  internodes,  very  rough ; 
blades  three  to  ten  inches  long,  one-fourth  to  nearly  one-half  inch 
wide,  very  rough,  the  edges  capable  of  cutting  like  a  knife  when 
drawn  through  the  fingers.  Panicle  loosely  branched,  lax  and 
bending,  five  to  eight  inches  long,  the  one-seeded  spikelets  ar- 
ranged in  single  rows  on  the  branchlets  and  overlapping  one  an- 


36 


GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 


other;  they  have  no  glumes  and  the  lemma  is  boat-shaped, 
sharply  keeled,  awnless,  hard,  and  bristly,  folded  over  the  palea, 
by  strong  marginal  nerves.  (Fig.  12.) 

Means  of  control 

Ditches  infested  with  this  weed  have  to  be  dug  out,  and  the  task 
should  be  done  before  any  seed  has  matured  to  float  downstream 
in  the  hairy,  boat-like  husks. 


FIG.  12.  —  Rice  Cut-grass  (Leersia  ory- 
zoides).     X  i. 


FIG.  13.  — Canary-grass  (Pha- 
laris  canariensis) .     X  i. 


GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY)  37 

CANARY-GRASS 
Phdlaris  canariensis,  L. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  August. 

Seed-time :   August  to  September. 

Range :   Nova  Scotia  to  Ontario,  southward  to  Virginia. 

Habitat:   Gardens,  roadsides,  waste  places. 

First  grown  in  this  country  as  food  for  caged  birds  and  for  making 
a  flour  which  is  used  as  sizing  in  cotton  manufacture  (weaver's 
glue),  this  grass  has  been  spread  rather  extensively  through  the 
accidental  mixture  of  its  seeds  with  better  grasses ;  it  is  worthless 
as  hay  or  green  forage.  (Fig.  13.) 

Culms  one  to  three  feet  tall,  erect,  usually  simple  but  sometimes 
branched,  smooth.  Sheaths  shorter  than  the  internodes,  rough, 
loose,  the  ligules  rounded  and  about  one  line  long;  blades  three 
inches  to  a  foot  long,  nearly  a  half-inch  wide,  flat,  very  rough. 
Spike  a  short,  dense  head,  about  an  inch  long  and  nearly  half  as 
thick,  the  flattened,  one-flowered  spikelets  crowded  and  overlap- 
ping ;  glumes  ovate,  keeled,  white  with  green  veins.  Seeds  oblong, 
smooth,  shining,  well  known  as  the  familiar  bird  food. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production,  and  the  weed  must  disappear  as  soon  as 
all  dormant  seeds  have  been  stirred  to  germination  and  destroyed. 


VANILLA-GRASS 

Hierdchloe  odorata,  Wahlenb. 
(Savastana  odorata,  Scribn.) 

Other  English  names :  Sweet-grass,  Holy-grass,  Seneca-grass,  Sweet 

Quack-grass. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 
Time  of  bloom :   April  to  May. 
Seed-time:   Beginning  of  June. 
Range :   Newfoundland  to  Alaska,  southward  to  Pennsylvania  and 

the  shores  of  the  Great  Lakes,  Colorado,  and  Oregon.     Also 

native  to  northern  Europe  and  Asia. 
Habitat :  Prairies ;  moist  meadows. 


38 


GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 


The  name  of  " Quack"  or  "Sweet  Quack,"  which  western 
farmers  have  given  this  grass  is  confusing,  for  the  true  Quack- 
grass  flowers  in  June  and  its  matted  "couch"  of 
rootstocks  is  near  the  surface,  while  Vanilla-grass 
flowers  in  early  spring  and  its  rootstocks  are 
deep  in  the  soil.  The  whole  plant  has  an  odor 
much  resembling  the  Vanilla  bean,  most  lasting 
if  plucked  while  the  plant  is  in  flower.  In  north- 
ern Europe  it  is  strewn  before  churches,  the 
trampling  feet  of  the  congregation  causing  it  to 
yield  its  fragrance,  and  this  custom  has  given  it 
the  name  of  Holy-grass.  The  Indians  of  the 
Northwest  make  baskets  and  mats  of  it;  the 
perfume  has  a  tendency  to  produce  sleep,  and 
pillows  are  stuffed  with  it ;  but  as  hay  or  forage 
it  has  no  value. 

Culms  one  to   two   feet   in   height,  very  slen- 
der, erect,  simple,  smooth.     Leaves  of  the  flower- 
ing stalks  very  short,  lance-shaped,  smooth   or 
only  slightly  roughened ;    but   after  seeding  the 
rootstocks  send  up  many  barren  stalks  with  long, 
flat,  rough,  and  deep  green  leaves  whose  task  is 
to    assimilate    and   store  food  for  next  season's 
early  bloom.     The  panicles  show  when  the  stalks 
are  but  a  few  inches  above  the  ground  and  grow 
with  them,   unfolding   very   suddenly;  they  are 
pyramidal,  two  to  four  inches  long,  the  branchlets 
spreading  and  drooping  when  green  but  stiffening 
FIG.  i4.__va-     and  becoming  erect  and  wiry  as  the  seeds  ripen, 
nilla-grass  (H iero-    the  glumes   turning   golden   brown   tinged   with 
'to)'X'     purple.     Spikelets  one-seeded.     (Fig.  14.) 

Means  of  control 

Summer  fallowing,  with  very  deep  plowing,  which  will  expose 
and  wither  the  rootstocks.  The  ripened  grass  should  first  be  mowed 
and  burned  so  as  to  avoid  plowing  under  the  long-lived  seeds. 
Or  deep  plowing  in  spring  when  the  grass  is  in  flower,  and  immedi- 
ately seeding  the  ground  heavily  with  some  grass  of  quick  growth. 


GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 


39 


Shallow   plowing   or   surface   cultivation   merely   stimulates    the 
growth  of  the  grass. 

PORCUPINE-GRASS 

Stlpa  spdrtea,  Trin. 

Other  English  names:    Weather  Grass,  Needle  Grass,  Auger-seed 

Grass.     In  South  Dakota  it  is  called  Wild  Oats. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   June  to  July. 
Seed-time :   July  to  August. 
Range:    Prairies  of  the  Middle  Western  States  from  Ohio  to  the 

Rocky   Mountains,  north  to  Manitoba,  British    Columbia,  and 

the  Saskatchewan  region. 
Habitat :   Dry  soil ;   wild  meadows 

and  pastures. 

A  large,  stout  grass,  growing  in 
tufts  from  a  matted  cluster  of  fibrous 
roots.  Culms  two  to  four  feet  tall, 
simple,  erect,  smooth.  Sheaths  long, 
mostly  overlapping,  slightly  rough ; 
basal  blades  about  half  as  long  as 
the  culm,  involute,  and  tapering  to 
a  thread-like  point ;  stem  leaves  six 
inches  to  a  foot  long,  hardly  more 
than  a  sixth  of  an  inch  wide,  gener- 
ally flat  but  sometimes  involute, 
with  long,  attenuate  points.  Pani- 
cles long  and  slim,  with  erect 
branches,  the  base  at  first  often 
enclosed  by  the  sheath  but  later 
much  exserted.  Spikelets  one-seeded, 
the  glumes  smooth,  very  narrow 
and  bristle-pointed,  exceeding  an 
inch  in  length;  the  lemma  tightly 
enfolding  the  seed,  hard,  stiff,  brown, 
its  lower  part  clothed  with  short 
rigid  hairs,  and  having  a  sharp- 
pointed  beak  or  callus,  and  at  the 
tip  an  awn,  sometimes  six  inches 
long,  rough,  stiff,  strongly  twisted 


FIG.  15.  —  Porcupine-grass  (Stipa 
spurted).     X  J. 


40  GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 

for  half  its  length,  usually  with  a  double  bend  beyond  the  straight 
spiral.  (Fig.  15.)  This  spiral  awn  relaxes  when  damp  and 
tightens  again  when  dry,  enabling  the  seed  to  bore  its  way 
into  the  soil  with  the  sharp  beak  at  its  base ;  but  if  caught  in 
the  wool  of  a  sheep  it  bores  just  as  readily  into  the  flesh  of  the 
animal,  the  stiff  hairs  near  the  base  of  the  seed  holding  it  in  place 
while  the  awn  twists  and  untwists  through  days  of  torment, 
making  sores  which  injure  the  quality  of  the  wool  and  some- 
times endanger  the  creature's  life.  Hay  containing  the  awns  is 
worse  than  worthless,  for,  when  eaten  by  horses,  cattle,  or  sheep, 
the  broken  bits  lodge  in  the  intestines,  causing  inflammation  so 
serious  as  sometimes  to  end  in  death. 

Means  of  control 

Mowing  so  frequently  or  grazing  so  closely  as  entirely  to  prevent 
the  formation  of  seed.  If  the  grass  is  very  abundant,  the  land 
should  be  broken  up  and  put  to  a  soiling  crop  before  reseeding. 

WESTERN   STIPA 
Stlpa  comata,  Trin.  &  Rupr. 

Other  English  names:  Needle-grass,  Needle-and-thread. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seed. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  July. 

Seed-time :   July  to  August. 

Range :   Plains  of  the  Missouri  River,  the  Rocky  Mountain  foothills 

of  Northwest  Canada,  and  in  New  Mexico  and  California. 
Habitat :   Dry  soil ;   wild  meadows  and  pastures. 

A  close  relative  of  the  preceding  species  but  not  quite  so  vicious. 
Both  these  grasses  make  excellent  forage  when  young,  and  good 
hay  when  cut  before  seed  development ;  but  there  are  grasses,  as 
good  as  these  or  better,  that  do  not  carry  such  offensive  weapons. 

Culms  erect,  smooth,  simple,  one  to  two  feet  tall,  growing  in 
thick  tufts  or  mats.  Sheaths  overlapping,  mostly  crowded  at  the 
base,  the  upper  ones  long  and  loose  and  often  enclosing  the  lower 
part  of  the  panicle ;  basal  blades  about  half  as  long  as  the  culm, 
involute,  with  very  long,  thread-like  tip ;  stem  leaves  three  to  six 
inches  long,  broader  than  the  basal  ones,  involute.  Panicle  erect, 
six  to  ten  inches  long,  somewhat  loose  and  spreading;  spikelets 


GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY)  41 

one-seeded,  the  glumes  exceedingly  narrow  and  tipped  with  long 
bristles,  the  lemma  with  an  acute  callus;  awn  four  to  eight 
inches  long,  rough-hairy  and  twisted  in  the  lower  part,  extremely 
slender,  flexible,  and  thread-like ;  not  harmful  when  caught  in  the 
coats  of  animals  but  very  objectionable  in  hay. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  preceding  species, 

POVERTY-GRASS 

Arlstida  dichotoma,  Michx. 

Other  English  name:  Three-awned 
Wire-grass.  . 

Native.   Annual.   Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   August  to  October. 

Seed-time:    September  to  November. 

Range:  Maine  to  Ontario,  southward 
to  Missouri,  Oklahoma,  Texas,  and 
Florida. 

Habitat:  Dry  upland  meadows,  pas- 
tures, and  waste  places. 

Sterile,  sandy,  or  gravelly  soils  seem 
to  be  preferred  by  this  wiry  grass. 
Stems  tufted,  six  inches  to  two  feet 
tall,  erect,  very  slender,  and  usually 
forking  at  every  joint.  Sheaths  short, 
loose,  and  smooth,  with  hairy  ligules ; 
the  blades  are  one  to  three  inches  long, 
scarcely  a  tenth  of  an  inch  wide,  with 
rough  surface  and  edges  involute. 
Panicles  very  slender,  two  to  five 
inches  long,  the  lateral  ones  often  en- 
closed in  the  sheaths  ;  spikelets  hardly 
a  quarter-inch  long,  the  glumes  sharp- 
pointed,  not  quite  equal ;  the  lemma 
hard,  convolute,  closely  enfolding  the 
seed  with  the  palea,  and  terminated  with 
three  awns,  of  which  the  lateral  ones  are 
short  but  the  central  one  is  about  as  long  FlQ  16  _  p04rty-grass  (Aris- 
es the  lemma  and  is  held  horizontally  tida  dichotoma) .  x 
with  a  twist  at  the  base.  (Fig.  16.) 


42  QRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 

Means  of  control 

Cultivate  and  enrich  the  soil  by  furnishing  it  with  humus  to 
enable  it  to  retain  moisture,  thus  putting  it  in  condition  to  support 
grasses  or  other  plants  of  better  quality. 

FEW-FLOWERED   ARISTIDA 

Arlstida  oligdntha,  Michx. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  July  to  October. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range :   Ne\v  Jersey  to  Nebraska,  southward  to 

Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Texas. 
Habitat:    Dry  grasslands,  waste  places. 

A  worthless,  wiry  grass,  similar  to  the  pre- 
ceding, and,  like  it,  partial  to  sterile  soil.  Stems 
tufted,  very  slender,  erect,  branched  at  base, 
and  forked  at  every  joint.  Sheaths  long  and 
loose,  smooth  but  with  minutely  hairy  ligules, 
the  blades  smooth,  two  to  six  inches  long, 
hardly  an  eighth  of  an  inch  wide,  involute,  and 
extended  to  a  very  long,  sharp  point.  Panicle 
very  narrow,  and  flexuous,  bearing  only  a  few, 
sometimes  but  two  or  three  spreading  spikelets, 
with  the  triple  awns  divergent  but  ascending, 
and  usually  all  about  equal  in  length  or  the 
central  one  somewhat  exceeding  the  other  two. 
(Fig.  17.) 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Poverty- 

SAND-GRASS 
Aristida  fasciculata,  Michx. 

Other  English  name :  Three-awned  Needle-grass. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   August  to  October. 

Seed-time:   September  to  November. 
FIG.    17.  —  Few-        Range:    Kansas   to   California,   Arizona,   New 
flowered    Aristida  Mexico,  and  Texas. 

(Aristida  oliganlhd) .         Habitat:   Dry,  sterile  fields,  pastures,  and  waste 
x  J.  places. 


GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY)  43 

In  the  hot,  arid  regions  of  the  Southwest,  which  are  its  home, 
the  Sand-grass  is  not  called  a  weed,  for  its  thin,  wiry  stems  afford 
some  grazing  where  otherwise  there  might  be  none;  but  when  it 
appears  in  soils  where  better  forage  can  be  made  to  flourish,  it 
should  be  crowded  out.  Its  seeds  are  often  an  impurity  of  western 


It  grows  in  tufts,  from  tufted  roots,  the  stems  six  to  eighteen 
inches  tall,  many-branched.  Leaves  three  to  six  inches  long,  but 
hardly  more  than  an  eighth  of  an  inch  wide,  pointed  and  involute. 
Panicle  slender,  four  to  eight  inches  long,  its  short,  erect  branches  in 
fascicles  of  two  to  four ;  the  slim  spikelets  have  the  glumes  one- 
nerved,  the  first  only  about  half  as  long  as  the  second,  the  lemma 
keeled  and  hairy,  its  three  awns  divergent,  the  central  one  extended 
much  beyond  the  other  two. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  two  preceding  grasses. 

MEXICAN   DROP-SEED 

Muhlenbergia  mexicana,  Trin. 

Other  English  names:  Meadow  Muhlenbergia,  Wood-grass,  Knot- 
root  Grass. 

Native.  Perennial.  Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  creeping  root- 
stocks. 

Time  of  bloom :   August  to  September. 

Seed-time:   September  to  October. 

Range :  New  Brunswick  and  Ontario  to  the  Dakotas  and  southward 
to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Habitat :  Low  ground  meadows  and  pastures,  woodlands,  and  banks 
of  streams. 

When  growing  along  the  sides  of  swiftly  flowing  streams,  the 
strong,  creeping,  knotted,  and  scaly  rootstocks  of  this  grass  are 
often  of  much  service  in  binding  the  soil  and  preserving  it  from 
washing,  but  it  is  otherwise  of  very  little  value.  If  cut  or  grazed 
while  very  young,  it  makes  good  hay  and  forage ;  but  it  soon 
becomes  hard,  wiry,  and  innutritious,  and  cattle  will  not  eat  it. 

Stems  smooth,  two  to  three  feet  high,  often  branching  at  the 
base,  usually  decumbent  and  taking  root  at  the  lower  joints. 
Leaves  four  to  six  inches  long,  less  than  a  quarter-inch  wide,  rough 
to  the  touch;  on  the  branches  they  are  much  smaller  and  more 


44 


GBAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 


crowded.  Flowering  panicles  terminal  on  the  culms  and  the  many 
branches,  two  to  six  inches  long,  very  slender  and  compact  and 
usually  partly  enclosed  in  the  upper  sheaths. 

Means  of  control 

In  fields  and  meadows,  drainage  and  thorough  cultivation  of  the 
ground  are  necessary  in  order  to  displace  this  grass. 


Schreberi).    x  *. 


NIMBLE  WILL,   DROP-SEED   GRASS 

Muhlenbergia  Schreberi,  J.  F.  Gmel. 
(Muhlenbergia  diffusa,  Schreber.) 

Other  English  name:   Wire-grass. 

Native.  Perennial.  Propagates  by  seeds  and 
by  rooting  at  the  joints. 

Time  of  bloom :   August  to  September. 

Seed-time :    September  to  October. 

Range :  From  Maine  to  Minnesota  and  south- 
ward to  Kansas,  Texas,  and  Florida. 

Habitat:   Lawns,  pastures,  and  meadows. 


A  low,  slender,  branching,  almost  creeping 
grass  which  grows  on  dry  hills  and  in  woods 
and  shady  places  about  dwellings.  When 
young  it  is  much  liked  by  all  kinds  of  stock, 
but  it  soon  becomes  so  dry  and  wiry  that  no 
animal  will  eat  it,  and  its  tough,  fibrous,  inter- 
lacing roots  make  a  sod  which  is  very  difficult 
to  break  up. 

Stems  ten  inches  to  two  feet  long,  some- 
what flattened,  usually  prostrate  at  the  base 
and  often  rooting  at  the  lower  joints,  erecting 
the  flowering  stalks.  Sheaths  loose  and 
smooth,  the  leaves  two  to  four  inches  long  but 
hardly  more  than  an  eighth  of  an  inch  wide 
and  rough  to  the  touch.  Panicle  very  slen- 
der, two  to  six  inches  long,  weak  and  bend- 
ing; glumes  of  the  spikelet  very  minute,  the 

lower  °ne  Often  laddng;   the  lemma  ls  rOUSh> 
strongly   nerved,    tipped   with   an   awn,    and 


GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 


45 


closely  enfolds  the  seed  until  ripe,  when  it  drops  to  the  ground 
entire.     (Fig.  18.) 

Means  of  control 

Where  the  ground  can  be  cultivated  without  danger  of  loss  from 
washing,  the  sod  should  be  broken  up  and  put  to  a  tilled  crop  before 
reseeding  with  clover  or  grasses  of  a  better  quality. 


MARSH   FOXTAIL 

Alopeciirus  geniculdt 

Other  English  names:   Bent  Foxtail, 

Water  Foxtail,  False  Timothy. 
Introduced.    Perennial.    Propagates 

by  seeds  and   by  taking  root  at 

the  lower  joints. 
Time  of  bloom:  June  to  August. 
Seed-time :   July  to  September. 
Range:     Newfoundland   to   British 

Columbia,  southward  throughout 

the  United  States ;   also  in  Europe 

and  Asia. 
Habitat:  Moist  meadows,  banks  of 

streams,  and  ditches ;  often  trouble- 
some in  damp  cultivated  ground. 

A  slender,  low-growing  grass,  with 
the  habit  of  forming  "knees"  and 
rooting  at  the  lower  joints ;  it  is 
said  to  be  nutritious  grazing  when 
young  and  tender,  but  yields  a  very 
small  amount  of  hay  to  the  acre, 
and  the  hay  is  of  poor,  harsh  quality. 

Culms  eight  to  eighteen  inches 
tall,  smooth,  simple  or  sparingly 
branched,  erect  above  the  decumbent 
base.  Sheaths  shorter  than  the  in- 
ternodes,  the  upper  one  usually  in- 
flated ;  leaves  rough,  two  to  six 
inches  long  and  hardly  an  eighth  of 
an  inch  wide.  Spikes  dense,  cylin-  FlQ  19._Mars'h  Foxtail  (Alo. 
drical,  one  to  three  inches  long  and  pecurus  geniculatus).  x  i. 


46 


GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 


about  a  third  of  an  inch  in  diameter;  spikelets  one-flowered, 
flattened,  the  glumes  equal,  united  at  base,  obtuse,  with  hairy 
keels ;  the  lemma  much  shorter,  obtuse,  and  smooth,  the  awn 
attached  slightly  below  the  middle  and  bent,  the  portion  exserted 
being  usually  twice  as  long  as  the  glumes.  (Fig.  19.) 

Means  of  control 

Drain  the  ground  and  follow  with  a  season  of  intensive  cultiva- 
tion and  fertilization  before  reseeding  heavily  to  better  and  much 
more  profitable  grasses,  such  as  red-top  and 
timothy. 

SHEATHED   RUSH-GRASS 

Spordbolus  vaginiflorus,  Wood 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   July  to  August. 
Seed-time:  August  to  September. 
Range :  Maine  to  South  Dakota,  southward 

to  Florida  and  Texas, 
Habitat :   Dry,  sterile  fields ;   waste  places. 


A  thin,  dry,  and  worthless  grass  which 
should  not  be  tolerated  where  anything 
better  can  be  made  to  grow.  Culms 
tufted,  fifteen  to  twenty  inches  tall,  slender, 
smooth,  divergent,  or  sometimes  erect. 
Sheaths  about  half  as  long  as  the  internodes, 
loose  and  inflated;  leaves  short,  less  than 
an  eighth  of  an  inch  wide,  smooth  beneath, 
rough  at  base  above,  involute  toward  the 
point,  Panicles  very  numerous,  included  and 
partly  concealed  in  all  the  upper  sheaths, 
the  terminal  one  only  being  usually  exserted, 
one  to  two  inches  long;  spikelets  thin,  the 
glumes  unequal,  long-pointed,  smooth,  the 
lower  one  shorter  ;  lemma  rough  and  hairy 
and  Deeded  in  length  by  the  palea  which 
is  very  sharp-pointed.  The  seed  is  freely 


vaginiflorus).    x  J. 


GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY)  47 

self-sown  as  it  ripens,  the  spikelets  dropping  entire  from  the  axis. 
(Fig.  20.) 

Means  of  control 

Cultivate  and  fertilize  the  ground,  furnishing  humus  in  order  to 
enable  it  to  retain  moisture  and  support  forage  of  a  profitable 
quality. 

SMALL  RUSH-GRASS 

Spordbolus  negleclus,  Nash. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   July  to  August. 

Seed-time:  August  to  September. 

Range :  New  Brunswick  to  the  Dakotas,  southward  to  Virginia  and 

Texas. 
Habitat:   Sterile  and  sandy  fields;   waste  places. 

Similar  to  the  preceding  species,  but  even  smaller  and  more 
worthless.  Culms  tufted,  six  inches  to  a  foot  in  height,  usually 
decumbent  to  the  first  joint  and  then  erect,  smooth,  often  much 
branched.  Sheaths  much  inflated,  rather  more  than  half  the 
length  of  the  internodes ;  leaves  only  about  one  line  wide,  smooth 
below,  rough  at  base  above,  with  very  attenuate  point.  Panicles 
very  slender  and  almost  completely  enclosed  and  hidden  in  the 
sheaths,  even  the  terminal  one  partly  so.  Spikelet  about  a  tenth 
of  an  inch  long,  the  glumes,  lemma,  and  palea  all  nearly  equal, 
smooth,  acute,  thin  in  texture,  white  and  shining;  sowing  itself 
when  ripe  by  dropping  entire  to  the  ground. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  preceding  plant. 

SMUT-GRASS 
Spordbolus  indicus,  R.  Br. 

Other  English  names:    Indian  Rush  Grass,  Indian  Drop-seed. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:  August  to  October. 

Range :  Virginia  to  Arkansas,  southward  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Habitat:   Fields,  meadows,  and  waste  places. 

This  grass  came  from  the  tropics  and  is  common  in  all  the  warmer 
regions  of  the  world.  It  is  good  forage  only  when  very  young,  the 


48  ORAMINEAE  (GEASS  FAMILY) 

stems  soon  becoming  very  hard  and  the  slender  panicles  often 
overgrown  with  a  black  fungus,  whence  the  common  name.  Cattle 
will  not  touch  it  when  other  food  can  be  found. 

Culms  thickly  tufted,  strong  and  wiry,  two  to  four  feet  tall, 
erect,  smooth,  simple  or  occasionally  branched.  Sheaths  but 
little  shorter  than  the  internodes,  the  ligule  a  ring  of  fine,  short 
hairs;  leaves  six  inches  to  a  foot  long  but  less  than  a  quarter- 
inch  wide,  smooth  and  flat.  .Panicle  much  elongated,  slim,  spike- 
like,  often  half  the  entire  height  of  the  plant.  Spikelets  about  a 
tenth  of  an  inch  long,  densely  crowded  on  the  erect  branchlets  of  the 
panicle ;  they  are  smooth,  shining,  the  glumes  obtuse,  very  unequal, 
the  lower  one  shorter  and  only  about  half  the  length  of  the  third 
scale  or  lemma,  which  is  acute  and  exceeds  the  obtuse  palea. 

Means  of  control 

Put  the  land  under  thorough  cultivation  for  a  season  in  order  to 
destroy  the  perennial  roots  before  reseeding  heavily  with  grass  or 
clover  of  good  quality. 

WILD  OATS 

Avenafdtua,  L. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  July. 

Seed-time :  July  to  August. 

Range:  All  parts  of  the  country,  but  most  abundant  and  trouble- 
some in  the  grain-growing  sections  of  the  Canadian  provinces  and 
in  the  United  States  from  Minnesota  to  Oregon  and  California. 

Habitat :  All  soils ;  fields  of  cereal  grains,  flax,  and  the  large-seeded 


Sowing  Wild  Oats  is  proverbially  a  bad  thing  to  do,  but  the  wide 
distribution  of  this  weed  is  almost  entirely  due  to  the  practice  of 
allowing  it  to  enter  the  soil  with  its  betters.  Once  there,  it  is  not 
an  easy  task  to  get  it  out  again.  It  has  a  number  of  bad  traits 
which  render  it  particularly  obnoxious  in  grain  fields :  it  thrives 
best  under  the  field  conditions  best  suited  to  the  growth  of  cereals ; 
its  seeds  ripen  irregularly,  but  usually  before  those  of  the  grain 
with  which  it  grows,  and  drop  easily  from  the  stalk  as  soon  as  ripe ; 
the  seeds  have  long  vitality,  and  one  fouling  of  the  ground  will  last 
for  several  seasons.  The  plant  adapts  itself  to  the  widest  differ- 


GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 


49 


ences  of  soil  and  climate,  from  Dakota  flax  fields  to  southern  Cali- 
fornia wheat  fields.  The  stiff  and  twisted  awns  are  frequently 
injurious  to  animals  that  eat  them,  causing  serious  irritation  in 
mouth,  nostrils,  and  digestive  tract ;  also,  the  hard  skins  and  thick 
hulls  of  the  seeds  sometimes  permit  of  their  passing  unharmed 
through  the  intestines  to  be  sown  with 
the  droppings.  (Fig.  21.) 

Wild  Oats  look  much  like  the  culti- 
vated grain,  the  culms  growing  in  tufts, 
two  to  four  feet  tall,  with  long,  smooth, 
green  leaves  about  a  half-inch  wide,  and 
loose,  open  seed-panicles  six  to  ten 
inches  long,  the  spikelets  pendulous,  the 
glumes  nearly  equal,  slightly  ridged, 
smooth  and  pointed.  But  the  lemmas 
or  hulls  that  enclose  the  seed  are,  in  the 
cultivated  plant,  smooth  and  thin  ;  those 
of  the  Wild  Oat  are  larger,  much 
thicker,  covered  with  stiff,  brown  hairs, 
and  have  a  ring  of  rigidj  brown  hairs  at 
base ;  they  bear  a  stiff  awn  about  an 
inch  long,  which  is  both  twisted  and 
bent;  the  awns  of  the  cultivated  oat 
are  much  shorter  and  not  so  stiff. 
These  crooked  and  bristly  awns  are  able 
to  cling  to  the  wool  of  sheep  and  to 
the  insides  of  grain-sacks,  which  helps 
the  seeds  to  find  new  homes ;  when 
dampened  they  relax,  and  twist  again 
when  dry,  so  boring  easily  into  the  soil. 
Wild  Oats  will  germinate  and  the  young 

plant  force  its  way  to  air  and  sunlight,  even  when  buried  four 
or  five  inches  deep  in  the  ground. 


FIG.  21.  —  Wild  Oats  (Avena 
fatua).     X  i. 


Means  of  control 

Sow  clean  seed.     No  matter  what  its  cost,  it  cannot  be  so  expen- 
sive as  the  fouling  of  a  whole  grain  crop,  sometimes  to  such  a  degree 


50  GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 

as  to  suffer  a  dockage  in  the  market  of  one  to  fifteen  pounds  to  the 
bushel.  And  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  soil  on  which  such  a 
crop  grew  is  also  damaged  and  below  grade  while  the  weed  is  its 
tenant.  If  a  field  is  newly  infested  and  the  plants  are  not  too 
numerous  to  make  the  job  impracticable,  hand-pulling  and  burning, 
before  the  hardening  of  the  seed,  is  not  too  great  a  price  to  pay  for 
its  complete  and  prompt  extermination.  But  if  left  until  harvest, 
stubbles  should  immediately  be  plowed,  very  shallow,  so  as  to  induce 
germination  of  seeds  in  the  soil,  the  growth  being  either  grazed  off 
or  plowed  under  for  humus.  In  the  spring,  plow  more  deeply  and 
put  in  a  hoed  crop.  Or  a  crop  of  sowed  corn  or  rape  may  be  grown 
and  used  for  soiling  or  pasturage.  Or,  if  such  crops  as  winter 
wheat  or  rye  are  to  be  grown,  summer-fallow  the  land,  harrowing 
it  well  about  every  week  or  ten  days  until  time  to  sow  the  rye  or  the 
wheat.  Leave  cultivated  oats  out  of  the  rotation  of  crops  until  the 
wild  plants  are  entirely  destroyed.  When  Wild  Oats  show  them- 
selves in  a  hay  field,  no  stress  of  weather  nor  pressure  of  other  work 
should  be  allowed  to  interfere  with  the  cutting  of -the  crop  before 
the  Wild  Oats  are  out  of  the  "dough  stage"  of  the  seeds.  The 
plant  makes  excellent  hay  when  cut  green. 

WILD   OAT-GRASS 

Danthbnia  spicata,  Beauv. 

Other  English  names:    Poverty-grass,     Bonnet-grass,     Wire-grass, 

Wildcat  Grass,  Turkey-strip,  Old  Fog. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  June  to  July. 
Seed-time:  July  to  August. 
Range:   Eastern  part  of  the  United  States  and  Canada,  westward 

to  the  Dakotas,  southward  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
Habitat:   Dry,  sterile,  or  rocky  soil. 

This  miserable  little  grass  seems  best  contented  when  making 
some  hard,  worn-out  meadow  look  shabby  and  miserable.  Its 
name  of  "Poverty  Grass"  fits  it  well,  for  its  presence  seems  to  be 
a  sure  indication  of  poverty  of  soil.  The  grass  itself  is  dry  and 
tasteless,  worth  nothing  either  as  hay  or  as  pasture. 

Roots  fibrous  and  clustered,  the  hard,  smooth,  wiry  stems 
nearly  naked,  most  of  the  short,  slim,  curly  leaves  being  gathered 


GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 


51 


in  a  tuft  at  their  base,  the  few  on  the  stems  small,  stiffly  erect,  and 
involute.  The  hard,  thin  little  seed  is  covered  with  a  hairy  lemma 
and  armed  with  a  bristly,  bent,  and  twisted 
awn,  like  that  of  the  real  Wild  Oat  but  much 
smaller.  Usually  the  seeds  ripen  and  fall 
before  the  hay  is  cut,  and  after  this  the  stems 
and  leaves  turn  dry  and  brown  and  look  un- 
sightly. (Fig.  22.) 

Means  of  control 

The  presence  of  the  weed  is  a  sign  of  ex- 
hausted fertility,  and  the  best  remedy  is  to 
enrich  and  cultivate  the  ground  before  reseeding 
heavily  with  clover  to  be  plowed  under  for 
humus.  WTien  the  soil  is  in  a  condition  to 
retain  moisture  and  support  the  growth  of  better 
plants,  the  weed  will  be  crowded  out. 

BERMUDA   GRASS 

Cynodon  Ddctylon,  Pers. 
(Caprwla  Ddctylon,  Kuntze.) 

Other  English  names :  Scutch  Grass,  Dog's-tooth 

Grass,  Wire  Grass. 
Introduced.    Perennial.    Propagates  by  stolons, 

or  runners  which  put  forth  roots  at  the  joints. 

Rarely  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   July  to  August. 
Seed-time:   August  to  September.     But  no  seed 

is  produced  in  the  United  States  except  in  the 

most  southern  parts. 
Range :  Southern  part  of  the  United  States,  north 

as   far   as   Maryland,  and  westward   to    the        FIG.   22.       Wild 

Pacific  Coast.  Oat-grass   (Dantho- 

Habitat:   Fields,  meadows,  and  waste  places.        nia  spicata) .     xi. 

This  is  a  tropical  grass,  subject  to  winterkilling  north  of  the 
altitude  of  Virginia.  It  prefers  warm,  sandy  soil,  and  droughts 
that  kill  other  grasses  harm  it  not  at  all.  Only  in  cultivated  ground 
is  it  a  weed,  but  there  its  creeping  habit  of  growth  makes  it  a  very 
bad  one,  extremely  hard  to  destroy,  particularly  in  cotton  fields 


52  ORAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 

and  other  hoed  crops.  But  it  is  the  most  valuable  of  southern 
grasses  for  lawns,  meadows,  and  pastures,  and  on  the  levees,  road 
embankments,  and  -stream  sides  it  is  the  best  thing  possible  to  bind 
and  hold  the  soil  in  place.  For  such  purpose  it  is  usually  started 
by  passing  a  quantity  of  the  plants  through 
a  feed  cutter  and  sowing  the  pieces,  every 
joint  of  which  will  probably  strike  root 
and  make  a  new  plant.  (Fig.  23.) 

It  is  small  and  low,  the  stems  four  inches 
to  a  foot  tall,  slender,  slightly  flattened, 
very  much  branched,  becoming  stiff  and 
wiry  as  they  mature.  Leaves  smooth,  flat, 
stiff,  light  green,  only  two  to  four  inches 
in  length  but  very  numerous.  Sheaths 
smooth,  the  ligule  a  ring  of  white  hairs. 
The  sheaths  overlap  and  are  crowded  at  the 
base  of  the  stalks  and  along  the  stolons. 
When  the  flowering  stalks  do  appear,  the 
heads  are  divided  into  four  or  five  "fingers" 
which  are  shorter  and  thicker  than  those 
of  the  real  finger,  or  crab,  grass  (Dig  it  arid). 

Means  of  control 

The  plant  is  a  lover  of  heat  and  sun- 
light  and   will   not   thrive    in    the   shade. 
Therefore,  when  a  meadow  or   a   pasture 
is  wanted  for  a  different  crop,  it  can  be 
smothered  out  by  a  thick  growth  of  taller 
plants,    such    as    cow-peas,    sorghum,    or 
millet,  which  will  at  the  same  time  yield  a 
FIG.    23.  —  Bermuda    profitable  crop  of  hav.     In  latitude  where 
hnT  ^nodon   Dacty~    a    "cold    snap"    in   winter   is   sufficiently 
biting,  the  roots  may  be  killed  by  expos- 
ing them  to  freeze,  using  a  good,  sharp,  turning  plow  and  mak- 
ing the  furrow  as  shallow  as  possible,  for  the  roots  are  very  near  the 
surface.     The  hard,  wiry,  interlacing  stems  of  this  grass  make 
tilled  crops  infested  with  it  very  difficult  of  cultivation,  requiring 
much  hand  labor  with  the  hoe.     But  in  most  localities  it  leaves  no 


GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY)  63 

seed  to  infest  the  soil,  and  one  or  two  seasons  of  careful  work 
should  conquer  it. 

GOOSE-GRASS 

Eleusine  Indica,  Gaertn. 

Other  English  names :  Yard-grass,  Crab-grass,  Wire-grass,  Crow-foot 
Grass.     Indian  Eleusine. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range :   In  nearly  all  parts  of  North  America  except  the  far  North. 

Habitat :    Farmyards,  roadsides,  and  waste  places ;    often  trouble- 
some in  lawns. 

A  coarse  grass  that  came  to  us  from 
India  and  behaves  as  though  domesticated. 
It  grows  from  clustered,  fibrous  roots,  the 
culms  six  inches  to  two  feet  long,  flattened, 
decumbent  at  base,  from  which  there  are 
usually  several  ,  branches.  Sheaths  loose, 
overlapping,  compressed,  smooth  but  hairy 
at  the  throat;  ligule  very  short  and  mi- 
nutely toothed,  blades  three  inches  to  a 
foot  long,  often  crowded  at  the  base  of 
the  culm,  rather  thick,  pale  green.  Spikes 
two  to  ten,  digitate  at  the  end  of  the  stalk 
or  one  or  two  below  near  the  top,  one  to 
three  inches  long;  spikelets  appressed, 
three-  to  five-flowered;  glumes  unequal, 
rough-keeled.  Seeds  black  and  wrinkled. 
(Fig.  24.) 

Means  of  control 

In  yards  and  waste  places  the  grass 
should  be  hoe-cut  or  hand-pulled  before 
it  develops  seeds.  In  lawns,  a  few  drops 
of  crude  carbolic  acid  squirted  into  the 
heart  of  a  tuft  with  a  common  machine 
oil-can  will  kill  it,  without  defacing 
the  smoothness  of  the  sward  as  a  hoe  pIG  24.  —  Goose-grass 

would  do.  (Eleusine  indica).     X  i. 


54  GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 

HAIRY  SPEAR-GRASS 
Eragrostis  pilbsa,  Beauv. 

Other  English  names:   Tufted  Spear-grass,  Slender  Meadow-grass. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:  Maine  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  Florida  and  Texas. 

Habitat:   Fields  and  waste  places.     Sandy  or  gravelly  soil. 

Steins  growing  in  tufts  from  fibrous  roots,  six  to  eighteen  inches 
tall,  smooth,  slender,  erect  or  decumbent  at  base,  diffusely  branched. 
Sheaths  shorter  than  the  internodes,  smooth  or  sometimes  sparingly 
hairy  at  the  throat,  the  ligule  a  ring  of  short  hairs ;  blades  one  to 
five  inches  long,  flat,  about  a  tenth  of  an  inch  wide,  rough  above, 
smooth  below.  Panicle  three  to  six  inches  in  length,  with  many 
slender,  spreading  branches,  having  minute  tufts  of  hair  in  the 
axils,  particularly  the  lower  ones.  Spikelets  very  small,  hardly  a 
line  wide,  five  to  eighteen-flowered.  Seeds  often  an  impurity  of 
other  small  grass  seeds. 

Means  of  control 

Prompt  cutting  before  the  formation  of  seed.  This  grass  makes 
tolerably  good  hay,  but  there  is  so  small  a  quantity  to  the  acre  that 
it  is  an  economy  to  supersede  it  with  forage  of  a  better  quality. 

STINK-GRASS 

Eragrdstis  megastachya,  Link. 
(Eragrdstis  major,  Host.) 

Other   English   names:     Strong-scented     Meadow-grass,     Pungent 

Meadow-grass,  Snake-grass,  Candy-grass. 
Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  June  to  September. 
Seed-time:   July  to  October. 
Range :  In  southern  Canada  and  in  most  parts  of  the  United  States. 

Especially  troublesome  in  the  Southwest. 
Habitat:  Fields  and  waste  places. 

A  very  handsome  grass,  but  offensive  to  grazing  animals  both 
as  green  forage  and  as  hay.  Culms  ten  inches  to  three  feet  high, 


GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY)  55 

somewhat  weak  and  flaccid,  often  decumbent  at  the  lower  joints, 
very  profusely  branched.  Sheaths  shorter  than  the  internodes, 
the  ligule  a  ring  of  short  hairs ;  blades  three 
to  ten  inches  long,  a  quarter-inch  to  a  half- 
inch  wide,  flat.  Panicles  three  to  ten  inches 
long,  with  many  spreading  branches,  densely 
flowered,  grayish  green.  Spikelets  ten-  to 
forty-flowered,  the  florets  closely  imbricated, 
the  glumes  acute  and  keeled.  Seeds  reddish, 
very  small,  when  ripe  dropping  readily  from 
the  spikelets  and  seeding  the  soil  for  the  crop 
of  the  next  year;  a  common  impurity  of 
timothy  and  other  small  grass  seeds.  (Fig.  25.) 

Means  of  control 

Small  areas,  in  yards,  roadsides,  and  waste 
places,  should  be  hoe-cut  or  hand-pulled 
while  the  grass  is  in  first  bloom.  Hay  from 
rankly  infested  meadows,  though  not  so 
strong-scented  as  the  green  grass,  is  wiry 
and  weedy,  and  of  such  inferior  quality  that 
it  is  most  profitable  when  turned  under  the 
ground  for  the  purpose  of  fertilizing  a  better 
crop. 

CHESS   OR   CHEAT 

Bromus  secallnus,  L.  Fia   25. Stink- 

Other  English  names:    Wheat-thief,  Williard's     Grass  (Eragrostis  me- 

Brome  Grass.  gastachya).     x  *. 

Introduced.     Annual  or  winter  annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  June  to  July. 
Seed-time:  July  to  August. 

Range:   Throughout  North  America  wherever  grain  is  grown. 
Habitat:   Grain  fields,  waste  places. 

Probably  the  first  settler  who  planted  a  wheat  field  in  America 
sowed  some  seeds  of  Chess  with  it  and  the  practice  still  continues. 
Some  farmers  believed  that  wheat  changed  into  Chess  as  it  grew, 
but  it  is  needless  to  say  that  such  a  miracle  never  happened.  The 


56 


GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 


two  plants  are  not  even  very  closely  related,  but  belong  to  quite 
distinct  tribes  in  the  Grass  Family,  and  each  comes  true  from  its 
own  seed.  But  Chess  seeds,  when  buried  in  the  soil,  retain  their 
vitality  for  years,  and  their  coming  up  in  a  field  where  clean  grain 
had  been  sown  might  be  thus  accounted  for.  When  sown  with 
spring  crops  it  often  fails  to  mature 
its  seeds,  and  is  therefore  most  fre- 
quently found  growing  with  the  fall- 
sown  crops  of  rye  and  winter  wheat. 
Grain  containing  Chess  is  somewhat 
difficult  to  clean,  and  if  ground  with 
wheat  the  flour  is  dark-colored  and 
has  a  narcotic  quality  which  ruins  it 
commercially.  Consequently  such 
wheat  is  very  sharply  docked  in  the 
market.  It  is  a  most  prolific  weed. 
Professor  Hunt,  of  Cornell  Univer- 
sity, sowed  one  pound  of  it  on  one- 
twentieth  of  an  acre  and  reaped 
ninety-nine  pounds  of  seed ;  and  as 
they  are  quite  small  and  light,  there 
are  nearly  as  many  seeds  in  a  pound 
as  there  are  wheat  kernels  in  a 
bushel.  (Fig.  26.) 

Stems  two  to  three  feet  tall, 
erect,  smooth,  and  simple.  Sheaths 
smooth,  strongly  nerved,  shorter 
than  the  internodes.  Leaves  three 
to  ten  inches  long,  slightly  hairy 
above  but  smooth  beneath,  and  flat. 
Panicle  loose  and  open,  its  branches 
somewhat  drooping.  Spikelets  smooth,  containing  five  to  fifteen 
seeds,  about  a  quarter-inch  long,  the  lemmas  adhering  like  oats, 
but  distinguished  from  that  grain  by  smaller  size  and  darker 
color;  they  are  also  somewhat  thicker  and  inrolled  at  the 
margins ;  awns,  when  present,  usually  short  and  straight  but 
weak  and  soft,  sometimes  more  or  less  flexuose. 


FIG.  26.  — Chess  or  Cheat  (Bro- 
mus  secalinus).     X  j. 


GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY)  57 

Means  of  control 

Sow  clean  seed.  Chess  is  smaller  and  lighter  than  wheat,  and 
care  in  cleaning  should  remove  it.  But  if  it  is  suspected  that  a  few 
seeds  remain,  stir  the  wheat  in  a  barrel  of  water  just  before  sowing  ; 
the  Chess  will  rise  to  the  top.  If  the  grain  is  treated  with  formalin 
for  the  purpose  of  destroying  suspected  spores  of  smut,  the  Chess 
may  be  removed  at  the  same  time.  When  the  weed  makes  a  first 
appearance  in  clean  soil,  under  no  circumstances  let  it  be  fouled  for 
years  by  allowing  the  Chess  to  ripen  and  scatter  its  seeds.  Hand- 
pulling  and  burning  is  worth  while  in  such  an  instance,  even  though 
the  quantity  be  so  large  as  to  make  the  task  rather  strenuous. 
Stubbles  where  seeds  have  matured  should  have  surface  cultivation 
after  harvest,  in  order  to  cause  them  to  germinate ; 
then  plow  them  under,  and  put  no  more  grain  on 
that  land  until  a  hoed  crop  of  some  kind  needing 
very  thorough  tillage  has  had  a  place  in  the 
rotation. 

SOFT   CHESS 

Brbmus  hordeaceus,  L. 

Introduced.  Annual  or  winter  annual.  Propa- 
gates by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  July. 

Seed-time:  July  to  August. 

Range :  Nova  Scotia  to  Virginia,  and  westward 
to  the  Mississippi  River.  Not  common,  but 
"becoming  frequent." 

Habitat:   Fields  and  waste  places. 

Soft  Chess  differs  from  Cheat  in  being  smaller, 
the  culms  one  to  two  feet  tall,  erect,  slender, 
simple.  The  whole  plant  is  softly  hairy,  while 
Cheat  is  smooth.  Panicle  erect  and  rather  com- 
pact instead  of  open  and  drooping,  the  spikelets 
having  shorter  pedicels ;  these  are  six-  to  ten- 
seeded,  the  glumes  covered  with  soft  appressed 
hairs,  the  lemma,  tipped  with  an  awn  about  as  "  _ 

long  as  itself,  and  straight.     (Fig.  27.)  Chewi    (Sromut 

It  should  be  fought  in  the  same  manner  as  the   hordeaceus).    x  i. 


58 


GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 


common  Chess,  for  if  allowed  to  have  its  way,  it  may  become  as 
pernicious  as  that  weed. 


DOWNY  BROME-GRASS 
Brdmus  tectorum,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Slender  Chess,  Early  Chess. 

Introduced.     Annual  or  winter  annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   May  to  July. 

Seed-time:   June  to  August. 

Range:  Massachusetts  to  Indiana,  Colorado,  Washington,  Virginia, 

and  Mississippi. 
Habitat:   Fields  and  waste  places. 

The  range  of  this  weed  has  greatly 
increased  of  late  years.  Its  early 
season  makes  it  very  objectionable, 
as  its  seeds  foul  the  ground  before 
any  grain  is  ripe;  the  stems  also 
become  rough  and  innutritious  very 
early  in  the  season,  so  that  it  is  a 
damage  in  hay  fields  as  well  as 
among  grain.  (Fig.  28.) 

Culms  one  to  two  feet  tall,  tufted, 
erect,  and  very  slender.  Sheaths 
and  blades  softly  downy,  the  latter 
flat,  three  to  six  inches  long.  The 
whole  plant  seems  slim  and  weak, 
the  panicle  one-sided,  like  oats,  its 
branches  slender  and  thread-like,  the 
spikelets  pendulous ;  these  are  nu- 
merous, small,  the  glumes  narrow, 
rough-hairy;  awn  straight,  longer 
than  the  lemma. 

Means  of  control 

r  Prevent  seed  production  —  which 

FIG.  28.  —  Downy  Brome-grass   means  that  the  grass  must  be  either 
(Bromus  tectorum).    x  \.         cut    or    pulled    as    early    as    May. 


ORAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY)  59 

Ground  largely  overgrown  with  this  grass  should  be  put  under 
cultivation  and  then  be  reseeded  with  other  and  better  forage  plants. 


PERENNIAL  RYE-GRASS 
Lolium  perenne,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Ray-grass,  Common  Darnel. 
Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  June  to  July. 
Seed-time :  July  to  August. 

Range:   Nearly  throughout  the  northern  United  States. 
Habitat:     Fields,    meadows,    pastures, 
and  roadsides. 

The  seeds  of  this  grass  closely  resem- 
ble those  of  the  much  more  expensive 
and  valuable  Meadow  Fescue  and  are 
sometimes  used  by  unscrupulous  dealers 
in  substitution  or  adulteration.  It 
cannot  properly  be  called  a  weed, 
though  in  this  country  it  often  proves 
unenduring  and  unprofitable,  particu- 
larly in  dry  seasons,  on  light  soils.  It 
is  a  grass  that  requires  moist  ground 
and  a  cool,  moist  climate  to  thrive  well, 
which  is  the  reason  it  is  so  highly 
esteemed  in  the  northern  latitudes  such 
as  England  and  Scotland.  Experiments 
at  Woburn  demonstrated  that  its  nutri- 
tive value  is  very  low  and  its  aftermath 
the  lowest  of  all  cultivated  grasses. 
When  allowed  to  seed  it  is  very  ex- 
haustive to  the  soil.  (Fig.  29.) 

Culm  ten  to  thirty  inches  tall,  erect 
and  smooth.  Sheaths  shorter  than  the 
internodes ;  leaves  flat  and  smooth,  two 
to  five  inches  long.  Spike  terminal, 
three  to  eight  inches  long,  the  spikelets  FlG  29  _  Perenniaf 
set  with  the  edge  to  the  rachis,  the  grass  (Lolium  perenne). 


60  GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 

empty  glume  at  the  base  slightly  shorter  than  the  spikelet,  a  character 
which  distinguishes  it  from  its  annual  relative  the  Poison  Darnel, 
which  has  the  subtending  empty  glume  longer  than  the  spikelet. 

Means  of  control 

Sow  clean  seed.  Prevent  the  production  of  seed  by  early  cutting. 
Though  perennial,  it  is  rather  short-lived,  and  if  not  allowed  to  seed, 
may  soon  be  crowded  out  of  the  ground  by  other  and  more  profit- 
able grasses. 

DARNEL 

Lblium  temulentum,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Poison  Darnel, 
Bearded  Darnel,  White  Darnel,  Ivray, 
Poison  Rye-grass,  Annual  Ray-grass. 

Introduced.  Annual.  Propagates  by 
seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   Late  June  to  July. 

Seed-time:  July  to  August. 

Range:  Locally  in  most  of  the  United 
States  as  far  south  as  Georgia ;  abun- 
dant on  the  Pacific  Coast ;  occasional 
in  Canada  from  New  Brunswick  to 
Manitoba ;  very  troublesome  in  Red 
River  Valley. 

Habitat :   Grain  fields  and  waste  places. 

Darnel  is  now  said  to  be  poisonous 
only  when  diseased,  its  toxic  properties 
being  due  to  a  fungus  which  has  recently 
been  discovered  in  the  tissues  under  the 
seed  coats.  It  is  reputed  to  be  most 
dangerous  in  wet  seasons  or  when  grown 
on  wet  soil.  When  ground  with  wheat, 
bread  made  from  the  flour  is  likely  to 
cause  "  eruptions,  trembling,  and  con- 
fusion of  sight  in  man  and  flesh-eat- 
ing animals";  and  if  the  seeds  are 
malted  with  barley,  the  ale  or  beer 
"causes  intoxication  very  suddenly"; 

FIG.   30.  -  Darnel    (Lolium    but  the  Plant  is  s.aid  n°*  to  be  harmful  in 
temulentum).    x  i.          any  way  to  grazing  animals,  and  makes 


GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY)  61 

excellent  hay  when  cut  before  seeding.      Poultry  also  eat  the 
seeds  without  any  bad  effects.     (Fig.  30.) 

Culms  two  to  four  feet  tall,  simple,  erect,  smooth.  Sheaths 
overlapping,  smooth ;  blades  six  inches  to  a  foot  long,  about  a 
quarter-inch  wide,  smooth  below  but  somewhat  rough  above, 
deep  green.  Spikes  four  to  eight  inches  long,  the  rachis  flexuous 
and  grooved  on  its  sides,  the  spikelets  sessile  and  attached  to  the 
rachis  with  their  edges  resting  in  the  alternate  curves ;  spikelets 
five-  to  seven-flowered,  the  lemma  sometimes  awned,  sometimes 
not ;  the  glume  at  the  base  of  each  spikelet  equaling  or  exceeding 
it  in  length,  looking  like  a  bract  in  the  axil  of  which  the  spikelet 
sits.  Seed  slender,  brown,  boat-shaped,  with  a  deep  groove  on  the 
inner  side,  appearing  somewhat  like  a  slim,  hard  grain  of  wheat ; 
the  palea  is  closely  adherent  to  it,  making  it  about  as  heavy  as  a 
kernel  of  wheat  and  difficult  to  separate  from  that  grain  when 
threshed  with  it. 

Means  of  control 

Sow  clean  seed.  Grain  containing  Darnel  should  not  be  milled 
but  should  be  fed  to  cattle  or  poultry ;  or  the  crop  should  be  cut 
green  and  used  as  hay.  Darnel-infested  land  should  not  again  be 
used  for  grain  until  the  rotation  has  included  some  cultivated 
crops. 

QUACK-GRASS 

Agropyron  repens,  Beauv. 

Other    English    names:    Couch-grass,    Wheat-grass,     Scutch-grass, 

Twitch-grass,  Quitch-grass,  Dog-grass,  Devil's  Grass,  Whickens. 
Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates   by   seeds   and   by  creeping, 

jointed  rootstocks. 
Time  of  bloom:  June. 
Seed-time:  July. 
Range:    The  whole  of  North  America  except  the  extreme  north. 

Most  injurious  in  the  United  States  from  New  England  westward 

to  Minnesota. 
Habitat:   Fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

If  it  were  put  to  a  vote,  perhaps  most  farmers  would  name 
Quack-grass  as  the  most  obnoxious  of  its  tribe ;  yet  it  makes  good 
hay  and  two  crops  a  year  of  it,  is  sweet  pasture  grazing  which  cattle 


62  GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 

eat  greedily,  and  its  matted  "  couch"  of  interlacing  rootstocks  make 
it  an  unsurpassed  soil-binder  in  steep  gullies  or  on  road  embank- 
ments where  the  ground  must  be  guarded  against  "washouts." 
But  it  is  its  very  tenacity  of  life  that  makes  it 
such  a  pest  when  it  gets  into  cultivated 
ground.  If  it  could  be  kept  in  its  place,  or 
were  not  so  hard  to  kill  when  it  gets  out  of 
bounds,  it  would  be  a  welcome  friend. 

The  mischievous  part  of  the  plant  is  its 
jointed,  branching,  underground  stem,  or  root- 
stock,  which  is  capable  of  budding  a  new  plant 
at  every  joint  and  taking  such  entire  posses- 
sion of  the  soil  that  other  plants  growing  with 
it  are  so  crowded  and  starved  as  to  yield  very 
poor  crops  or  none  at  all.  The  same  joints 
from  which  the  buds  shoot  above  ground  also 
send  down  clusters  of  fine,  fibrous  roots  which 
absorb  most  of  the  plant-food  and  moisture. 
Culms  one  to  three  feet  tall,  with  flat,  ashy 
green  leaves,  smooth  beneath  but  rough  above, 
three  inches  to  a  foot  long  and  about  a  third 
of  an"  inch  wide ;  sheaths  smooth,  shorter  than 
the  internodes.  Fruiting  spike  erect,  three  to 
eight  inches  long,  with  spikelets  sessile  and 
alternately  placed  in  each  notch  of  the  rachis 
with  the  broad  side  turned  toward  it ;  each 
contains  three  to  seven  seeds,  which  are  about 
as  long  as  a  grain  of  wheat  but  not  nearly  so 
plump.  Indeed  the  whole  spike  looks  some- 
what like  a  slender  head  of  wheat,  and  the 
grass  is  a  near  relative  of  that  noble  grain. 
FIQ.  31.— Quack-  The  glumes  of  some  seeds  have  a  short  awn, 
or  beard,  and  others  have  none;  they  do  not 
shell  readily,  and  often  the  entire  spikelet 
breaks  from  the  stalk.  Too  often  the  seed  is  an  impurity  of 
wheat,  rye,  barley,  clover,  and  other  grasses,  particularly  brome- 
grass  and  timothy.  Also  the  plant  is  often  infected  with  the 
fungous  disease  known  as  "stem  rust"  of  wheat.  (Fig.  31.) 


GBAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY)  63 

Means  of  control 

There  is  no  easy  way  to  subdue  Quack-grass ;  but  it  can  be  done, 
and  in  a  single  season,  without  loss  of  the  use  of  the  ground.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  the  storehouse  of  the  plant  is  its  creeping 
rootstock,  the  material  for  the  growth  of  which  comes  from  the  food 
assimilated  by  the  green  leaves,  therefore  no  green  leaves  must  be 
allowed  to  develop.  Professor  Beal,  the  noted  botanist  of  the 
Michigan  Experiment  Station,  outlines  the  following  plan,  based  on 
long  practical  use :  "  If  convenient,  pasture  closely  for  a  whole 
growing  season,  which  prevents  the  production  of  new,  thrifty 
rootstocks,  then,  if  the  sod  be  well  turned  under  deep,  rolled  and 
harrowed,  much  of  the  grass  will  be  killed  at  once.  Ordinarily  I 
plow  late  in  the  fall  or  very  early  in  the  spring,  rain  or  shine,  wet  or 
dry,  or  even  in  June,  and  cultivate  with  a  shovel-toothed  cultivator 
every  three  days  till  the  middle  of  June  or  later,  if  starting  the  work 
later.  Rarely,  if  the  weather  be  wet  and  hot,  cultivate  every  two 
and  a  half  days.  Keep  all  green  leaves  from  showing  themselves. 
Do  not  delay  to  see  green  leaves.  A  harrow  that  does  not  cut 
off  the  stems  below  the  surface  of  the  ground  is  not  efficient."  A 
late  crop  of  corn  can  be  grown  on  this  land  and  the  last  spears  of 
the  grass  killed  in  its  cultivation. 

When  the  grass  takes  possession  of  cultivated  ground  its  root- 
stocks  are  usually  much  deeper  in  the  soil  than  in  pastures  and 
meadows.  An  early  fall  plowing,  with  the  furrow  turned  just  deep 
enough  to  cut  the  matted  rootstocks  free  from  the  subsoil  (usually 
about  six  inches),  followed  by  toothed  harrowing  to  work  the  soil 
free  from  the  rootstocks  so  that  they  may  be  raked  into  piles  to  be 
dried  and  burned  or  thoroughly  rotted  in  a  compost  heap,  is  another 
good  way  to  fight  Quack-grass.  Two  bouts  of  such  fall  plowing 
and  harrowing,  raking,  and  burning,  the  second  a  little  deeper  and 
crosswise  of  the  first,  with  early  and  careful  cultivation  in  the  spring, 
followed  by  a  hoed  crop  thoroughly  tilled  until  midsummer,  will 
clean  out  the  weed ;  and  the  enlarged  yield  of  the  crop  due  to  the 
needful  extra  cultivation  will  recompense  the  increase  of  care  and 
labor. 

Small  areas  of  the  pest  may  be  smothered  to  death  by  being  covered 
with  boards,  or  spreading  thick  with  manure  or  straw  (not  less 
than  a  foot  deep  and  well  packed  down  so  as  to  exclude  air),  or  with 


64  GEAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY} 

tarred  paper  pegged  down  so  that  the  wind  cannot  stir  it.  Two  or 
three  months  of  such  exclusion  from  air  and  sunlight  will  leave  the 
rootstocks  withered  and  dead. 

Quack-grass  rootstocks  (not  the  rootlets)  are  much  used  in  the 
drug  trade.  At  present  this  country  imports  from  Europe  about  a 
quarter-million  pounds  of  it  annually,  at  a  cost  of  three  to  seven 
cents  a  pound.  Since  no  country  grows  more  Quack-grass  than  the 
United  States,  it  would  seem  needless  to  go  abroad  for  it.  To  pre- 
pare the  plant  for  market,  the  smooth,  pale  yellow  rootstocks  should 
be  gathered  in  the  spring,  carefully  washed,  and  all  the  fine  rootlets 
and  buds  removed  from  the  joints,  after  which  the  rootstocks  may 
be  cut  into  short  pieces  on  a  feed  cutter  and  thoroughly  dried. 

WILD   BARLEY 
Hdrdeum  jubatum,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Squirrel-tail,  Flicker-tail,  Skunk-tail,  Tickle 

Grass. 

Native.     Biennial  or  winter  annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom.     June  to  August. 
Seed-time:  July  to  September. 
Range:  Labrador  to  Alaska,  southward  as  far  as  Maryland,  Kansas, 

and  California.     Most  troublesome  in  the  West. 
Habitat:   Fields,  meadows,  pastures,  and  waste  places. 

Because  of  its  beauty  this  plant  is  sometimes  used  for  orna- 
mental purposes ;  but  it  never  should  be,  lest  it  spread  to  do  injury 
where  it  is  not  wanted.  The  long,  barbed,  reddish-golden  awns 
become  very  brittle  when  ripe,  and  break  into  small  bits  which 
work  between  the  teeth  and  into  the  jaws  of  animals  that  eat  the 
grass,  causing  such  ulcerations  and  swellings  as  sometimes  to  be 
mistaken  for  the  disease  called  "Big  Jaw"  or  "Lumpy  Jaw" 
(Actinomycosis) ;  they  get  into  the  nostrils  and  into  the  eyes,  some- 
times causing  blindness ;  they  also  work  into  the  tissues  of  the 
throat  and  the  alimentary  canal,  setting  up  an  irritation  which 
may  end  in  ulceration  and  death.  The  injury  to  horses,  cattle,  and 
sheep  from  this  cause  is  great,  particularly  in  the  West.  (Fig.  32.) 

The  grass  grows  in  thick  tufts  from  fibrous  and  clustered  roots. 
Culms  ten  to  thirty  inches  tall,  smooth,  erect  or  sometimes  decum- 
bent at  the  lower  joints.  Sheaths  shorter  than  the  internodes; 


GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 


65 


blades  two  to  five  inches  long,  flat,  rough,  and  grayish  green; 

spikes  nodding,  three  to  five  inches  long,  the  spreading  awns  making 

them  nearly  as  broad ;  spikelets  in  threes,  on  opposite  sides  of  the 

flattened  jointed  rachis ;  only  the  central  one  produces  a  seed,  the 

lateral  flowers  being  sterile;   glumes  equal,  rigid, 

narrow  and  bristle-pointed,  placed  at  the  side  of 

the  compressed  spikelet  which  is  placed  with  its 

back  against  the  spike;   the  lemma  of  the  fertile 

flower  is  armed  with  a  long,  sharply  barbed  awn, 

and  the  sterile  flowers  have  three  apiece,  so  that 

each  spikelet  has  seven  awns,  all  barbed.     These 

rough-awned  seeds  cling  to  the  hair  and  the  wool 

of  animals,  and  are  carried  by  the  wind,  and  by 

the  water  of  irrigating  ditches,  along   which  the 

pest  loves  to  grow  —  although  it  adapts  itself  to 

almost   any   soil,   even  the   dry,  alkaline  regions 

where  few  other  grasses  thrive. 


Means  of  control 

Mowing  the  grass  so  early  and  so  frequently  as 
to  prevent  the  formation  of  the  barbed  seed- 
heads.  If  the  infestation  is  new  and  the  plants 
are  not  too  numerous,  hand-pull  and  destroy 
them.  Large  areas  may  be  burned  over,  killing 
the  plants  and  any  seeds  on  the  surface.  Culti- 
vation of  the  ground  will  exterminate  the  weed, 
care  being  taken  to  leave  no  stragglers  along  fence 
rows  and  ditches. 

LITTLE   BARLEY 

Hdrdeum  pusillum,  Nutt. 


FIG.  32.— 
Wild  Barley  or 
Squirrel-tail 
(Hordeum  juba- 
tum).  X  J. 


Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   Late  May  to  June. 

Seed-lime:  June  to  July. 

Range:     Ontario    to    British   Columbia,    southward   to   Arkansas, 

Texas,  and  California.     On  the  Atlantic  Coast  from  Virginia  to 

Florida. 
Habitat :   Plains ;   has  a  preference  for  saline  soil. 


66  GRAMINEAE  (GRASS  FAMILY) 

Little  Barley  is  not  such  a  dangerous  pest  as  Squirrel-tail-grass, 
but  it  makes  a  similar  growth  in  tufts  and  crowds  out  better  forage ; 
also,  its  early  bloom  causes  it  to  become 
dry   and   worthless  just  when  green  food 
is  most  needed.     (Fig.  33.) 

Culms  six  to  fifteen  inches  tall,  smooth, 
erect  or  decumbent  at  the  base.  Sheaths 
loose,  smooth,  shorter  than  the  inter- 
nodes,  the  upper  often  enclosing  the  base 
of  the  spike;  blades  one  to  three  inches 
long,  erect,  and  rough.  Spikes  erect,  one 
to  three  inches  in  length;  spikelets  clus- 
tered in  threes,  the  central  one  fertile,  the 
lateral  pair  abortive ;  glumes  of  the  fertile 
spikelet  dilated  above  the  base  and  taper- 
ing into  a  slender  awn,  rough  but  not 
barbed,  equaling  the  awned  lemma. 

Means  of  control 

Early  and  frequent  cutting  in  order  to 
prevent  the  development  of  seed. 

WALL   BARLEY 

Hdrdeum  murinum,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Waybent,   Barley- 
grass. 

Introduced.    Annual.    Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  June  to  July. 
Seed-time:  July  to  August. 
Range :     California  and   Oregon ;     also   in 
FIG.  33.  —  Little  Bar-  Atlantic  States  along  the  coast  near  sea- 

ley  (Hordeum  pusillum).  ports. 

x  i-  Habitat :   Fields  and  waste  places. 

A  European  relative  of  the  Squirrel-tail-grass,  the  roughened 
awns  of  which  are  nearly  as  unpleasant  to  grazing  animals  as  those 
of  the  native  plant.  Culms  six  inches  to  two  feet  tall,  erect  or 
decumbent  at  base,  growing  in  tufts.  Sheaths  loose,  shorter  than 
the  internodes  on  the  long  stems,  overlapping  on  the  shorter  ones, 


CYPEBACEAE  (SEDGE  FAMILY)  67 

the  upper  ones  often  inflated  and  enclosing  the  base  of  the  spike ; 
blades  rough,  two  to  six  inches  long.  Spikes  two  to  four  inches  in 
length,  the  spikelets  in  threes  with  lemmas  awned,  those  of  the 
central,  fertile  flower  broader,  with  hairy  margins,  the  awn  nearly 
an  inch  long ;  the  lateral  ones  shorter. 

The  weed  should  be  suppressed  by  cutting  so  frequently  as  to 
prevent  seed  development. 

LOW  GALINGALE 
Cyperus  didndrus,  Torr. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   August  to  October. 
Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range:   New  Brunswick  to  western  Ontario  and  Minnesota,  south- 
ward to  the  Carolinas  and  Kansas. 
Habitat :  Wet  grasslands  and  along  streams,  ponds,  and  ditches. 

A  meadow  overgrown  with  Galingale  is  not  of  much  value. 
This  one  is  not  an  aggressive  weed,  merely  coming  in  where  the 
larger,  more  nutritious  grasses  have  been  drowned  out.  As  forage 
it  is  nearly  worthless.  It  is  a  small  plant,  varying  from  three 
inches  to  a  foot  in  height,  most  commonly  about  six  inches,  with 
tufted  stems  or  culms,  very  slender,  three-sided,  leafy  at  base,  and 
deep  green.  Leaves  hardly  a  tenth  of  an  inch  wide,  smooth ;  at  the 
summit  of  the  stem  are  three  slim,  spreading,  involucral  leaves,  or 
bracts,  subtending  the  flower-heads ;  these  are  a  cluster  of  thin, 
flattened  spikelets,  usually  about  a  half-inch  long  and  either  sessile 
on  the  end  of  the  stem  or  clustered  on  the  tips  of  two  or  three  short, 
unequal  rays.  Scales  ovate,  obtuse,  one-nerved,  green  with  pur- 
plish brown  margins  or  sometimes  all  brown ;  stamens  two  and 
style  two-parted,  the  cleft  tip  exserted  far  beyond  the  points  of  the 
scales.  Seeds  flattened,  oblong  lens-shape,  dull  gray. 

Means  of  control 

Drain  the  land  and  put  under  intensive  cultivation  for  a  season 
in  order  to  cause  dormant  seeds  to  germinate  and  be  destroyed; 
reseed  heavily  with  good  grasses  or  clover. 


68 


CYPERACEAE  (SEDGE  FAMILY} 


NUT-GRASS 

Cyperus  rottindus,  L. 
Other  English  names:   Nut  Sedge,  Coco  Sedge,   Coco-grass,  Hydra 


Cyperus. 
Introduced 


Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  tuber-bear- 


Perennial. 

ing  rootstocks. 
Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 
Seed-time:    August  to  November. 

Range:  Virginia  to  Kansas,  southward  to  Florida  and  Texas. 
Habitat  :    All  soils  ;    troublesome  in  cultivated  crops,  especially  in 

cotton  fields. 

This  pest  is  said  to  have  been  brought  into  the  United  States 
among  some  garden  plants  from  the  West  Indies,  nearly  a  century 
ago,  since  when  it  has  spread  over  a  very 
large  part  of  the  country  where  the  climate 
is  propitious  to  it,  extending  along  the 
coast  as  far  north  as  New  Jersey.  It  is 
very  difficult  to  dislodge,  experience  hav- 
ing shown  that  "nothing  serves  so  well  to 
propagate  it  as  to  plow  and  replow,  with 
a  view  to  destroy  it,"  as  a  planter  stated 
in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Darlington.  The  smaller 
tubers  are  sometimes  shipped,  clinging  to 
the  roots  of  garden  plants  and  nursery 
stock,  and  the  seeds  are  a  common  im- 
purity of  southern  grass  and  clover  seed 
and  baled  hay  ;  they  are  hard-coated  and 
pass  unharmed  through  the  digestive 
tracts  of  cattle  and  horses,  and  such 
manure,  without  long  composting,  is  a 
menace  to  the  land  where  it  is  spread. 
(Fig.  34.) 

The  fibrous,  scaly  rootstocks,  which  are 
its  most  mischievous  part,  are  deep-set, 
first  forming  by  descending  from  the  base 
of  a  young  plant,  to  a  depth  of  six  inches 
to  a  foot  or  more  according  to  the  mellow- 
FIG.  34.  —  Nut-grass  (Cy-  ness  °^  tne  so^'  an<^  there  forming  the  first 

perus  rotundu^.    x  i.       small,    round,  potato-like   tuber,    varying 


CYPERACEAE  (SEDGE  FAMILY)  69 

from  the  size  of  a  pea  to  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  diameter; 
from  this  center,  horizontal  cord-like  rootstocks  are  extended 
in  every  direction,  producing  new  tubers  at  intervals  of  two 
to  ten  or  more  inches,  which  immediately  send  up  shoots  to 
the  surface  and  begin  to  throw  out  their  own  lateral  growths ; 
and  so  on,  indefinitely,  provided  that  the  food-producing  leaf- 
growth  above  is  permitted  to  flourish.  The  leaves  appear  first  in  the 
spring,  three  to  six  inches  long,  one-eighth  to  one-fourth  inch  wide, 
rather  thick,  smooth,  with  mid-vein  prominent  below  and  forming 
a  slight  channel  above.  Culm  slender,  smooth,  three-sided,  six  to 
eighteen  inches  tall,  leafless  except  for  three  or  four  involucral  bracts 
at  its  summit,  one  to  four  inches  long  and  subtending  the  umbellate 
cluster  of  flowers.  Rays  of  the  umbel  two  or  three  inches  long, 
spreading,  bearing  on  the  upper  part  four  to  nine  flowering  spikes 
with  twelve  to  forty  spikelets ;  scales  closely  imbricated,  ovate, 
pointed,  dark  purplish  brown  with  a  green'  keel  and  margin  ; 
stamens  three  and  style  three-cleft,  exserted  much  beyond  the  tops 
of  the  scales.  The  many  small  achenes  are  oblong,  pointed  at 
both  ends,  three-sided,  dull  green  or  brown. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production.  Although  the  weed  is  very  prolific, 
both  above  and  below  ground,  the  growth  of  flowering  stalks  is 
most  exhaustive  to  the  underground  tubers,  and  if  such  stalks  are 
persistently  hoe-cut,  before  the  flowers  mature  and  sow  their 
progeny,  the  tubers  in  the  soil  must  gradually  yield  up  their  life. 
Both  dormant  seeds  and  tubers  should  be  stimulated  to  active 
growth  by  frequent  stirring  of  the  soil  in  the  fore  part  of  the  season, 
but  the  main  battle  should  come  at  the  time  when  the  plant  is 
expending  all  its  resources,  above  and  below,  in  the  development  of 
seed,  which  must  not  be  permitted  to  come  to  perfection.  This 
intensive,  late  cultivation  should  be  followed  by  heavily  seeding 
the  ground  to  some  winter  crop,  such  as  Rye  or  Winter  Vetch  or 
Japan  Clover,  to  be  used  for  winter  grazing  which  will  keep  down 
the  Sedge;  the  crop  to  be  plowed  under  in  the  spring  for  green 
manure. 

Care  should  be  taken  that  the  rootstocks  and  small  tubers  are 
not  transported  to  clean  land  on  farm  implements. 


70 


CYPERACEAE  (SEDGE  FAMILY) 


CHUFA 
Cyperus  esculentus,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Northern     Nut-grass,    Yellow    Nut-grass, 

Yellow  Galingale. 
Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  tuber-bearing 

rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom :   July  to  September. 
Seed-time:   August  to  November. 
Range :  New  Brunswick  to  Minnesota  and  Nebraska,  southward  to 

Florida  and  Texas ;   also  on  the  Pacific  Coast  from  California  to 

Alaska.     Common  in  Europe  and  Asia  and  in  tropical  America. 
Habitat:   Moist  fields,  banks  of  streams,  and  ditches. 


In  the  South  this  plant  is  frequently  cul- 
tivated for  pasturing  and  for  fattening  hogs  in 
autumn,  those  animals  being  very  fond  of  its 
sweet,  oily,  and  fleshy  tubers.  Unlike  those 
of  the  preceding  species,  the  tubers  are  usually 
clustered  very  near  the  parent  plant,  the  scaly 
rootstocks  being  shorter  and,  unless  the  ground 
is  very  soft,  not  far  below  the  surface.  (Fig. 
35.) 

Culms,  stout,  fifteen  to  thirty  inches  high, 
three-sided,  light  yellowish  green.  Leaves 
about  the  same  length,  one-fourth  to  one- 
half  inch  wide,  with  heavy  mid-vein  and 
slightly  roughened  edges.  The  involucre  has 
three  to  six  leaf-like  bracts  extending  much 
beyond  the  rays  of  the  umbel,  which  are  often 
compound.  Spikes  straw-colored  or  pale  yel- 
low-brown, the  whole  plant  being  conspicuous 
for  its  light  coloring,  plainly  visible  at  a 
distance  among  grasses.  The  scales  of  the 
spikelets  are  oblong-ovate,  appressed  at  the 
base  but  loose  at  the  tip,  three  to  five-nerved, 
with  narrow  scarious  margins.  Achenes  small, 
oblong  ovoid,  three-sided,  light  yellowish 
brown. 


35.  —  Chufa 
.s    esculentus). 


CYPERACEAE  (SEDGE  FAMILY) 


71 


Means  of  control 

Drainage  of  the  ground,  followed  by  clean,  late-continued  hoe- 
cultivation  which  will  prevent  seed  production  and  gradually  starve 
the  underground  growth.  Hogs  may  be  of  assistance  in  the  be- 
ginning in  cleansing  a  badly  infested  plot. 


STRAW-COLORED   CYPERUS 
Cyperus  strigdsus,  L. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  tubers. 
Time  of  bloom:  July  to  Sep- 

tember. 
Seed-time:    August  to   Octo- 

ber. 
Range:    Maine    to    Ontario, 

Minnesota,  and  Nebraska, 

southward  to   Florida  and 

Texas. 
Habitat  :      Damp     meadows, 

swamps,  and  along  streams. 


This  plant  is  very  variable, 
having  dwarf  varieties  and 
others  with  globose  heads  ;  but 
in  any  form  it  is  a  weed,  al- 
most worthless  as  forage,  even 
when  young.  Ordinarily  it 
grows  one  to  three  feet  tall, 
the  three-sided  culms  rather 
stout,  tufted,  rising  from  a 
cluster  of  hard,  corm-like 
tubers.  Leaves  flat  and  soft, 
rough-edged,  about  a  quarter- 
inch  wide  and  equaling  the 
stem  in  length  ;  those  forming 
the  involucre  are  much  longer 
than  the  rays  of  the  umbel, 
which  are  simple  or  com- 
pound, their  sheaths  terminat- 
ing  in  two  bristles;  spikelets 


.  -Straw-colored   Cyperus   (Cy 
penis  strigosus).    xi. 


72  CYPERACEAE  (SEDGE  FAMILY) 

numerous,  flattened,  linear,  eight  to  ten-flowered,  spreading,  in 
loose  oblong  or  ovoid  heads ;  stamens  three ;  style  three-parted, 
the  branched  tips  exserted;  scales  straw-colored,  oblong  lance- 
shape,  strongly  nerved,  much  longer  than  the  slim,  three-angled, 
and  pointed  achene.  (Fig.  36.) 

Means  of  control 

Drainage  of  the  ground,  followed  by  a  cultivated  crop  very 
thoroughly  tilled  so  as  to  destroy  the  tuberous  rootstocks  re- 
seeding  heavily  to  red-top  or  timothy. 

BALDWIN'S   CYPERUS 

Cyp&rus  echinatus,  Wood 

Native.  Perennial.  Propagates  by 
seeds  and  by  rootstoeks. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range :  Virginia  to  Missouri,  southward 
to  Florida  and  Texas. 

Habitat :  Dry,  sandy  soil ;  cultivated 
fields,  waste  places. 

This  Cyperus  seems  to  prefer  dry 
and  mellow  soils,  and  often  makes  itself 
troublesome  in  strawberry  and  melon 
patches.  It  springs  from  short  corm- 
like  rootstocks,  the  culms  ten  inches 
to  two  feet  high,  slender,  smooth,  longer 
than  the  leaves,  which  are  pale  green, 
less  than  a  quarter-inch  wide,  smooth 
with  rough  edges ;  the  involucre  has 
five  to  ten  bracts,  most  of  them  much 
longer  than  the  umbel;  the  latter  has 
six  to  twelve  unequal  ascending  rays, 
the  heads  globose  or  slightly  oblong, 
usually  about  a  half -inch  in  diameter; 
spikelets  twenty  to  forty,  pale  green  or 
FIG.  37.  — Baldwin's  Cyperus  somewhat  yellowish,  spreading,  lance- 
(Cyperus  echinatus).  x  J.  cylindric  or  only  slightly  compressed ; 


CYPERACEAE  (SEDGE  FAMILY)  73 

scales  five  to  eight,  narrowly  ovate,  thin,  appressed,  striate,  with 
scarious  margins ;  usually  the  lowest  two  and  the  awl-like  one  at 
the  point  of  the  spikelet  are  empty.  The  three-sided,  oblong 
achene  is  only  about  half  the  length  of  the  scale.  (Fig.  37.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production.  Persistent,  thorough,  and  late  culti- 
vation is  necessary  in  order  to  hinder  the  development  and  dispersal 
of  seeds  and  to  destroy  the  rootstocks.  Partly  ripened  heads 
should  never  be  plowed  under,  but  should  be  removed,  either  to 
compost  heap  or  bonfire. 

MEADOW  RUSH 

Scirpus  atrovirens,  Muhl. 

Other  English  names:   Club  Rush,  Dark-green  Bulrush. 

Native.  Perennial.  Propagates  by  seeds 
and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  July. 

Seed-time:   July  to  August. 

Range:  Nova  Scotia  to  the  Saskatchewan, 
southward  to  Georgia  and  Missouri. 

Habitat :  Wet  meadows,  marshes,  and  bor- 
ders of  streams. 

One  of  the  most  widely  distributed  of 
its  tribe  and  a  bad  weed  in  low  grass- 
lands, for  it  is  worthless  as  fodder,  either 
green  or  dry.  Culms  smooth,  obtusely 
triangular,  leafy,  two  to  four  feet  tall. 
Leaves  pale  green,  a  quarter-inch  to  a 
half-inch  wide,  rough-edged,  two  or  three 
of  the  upper  ones  whorled  and  extending 
above  the  flower  cluster.  Umbels  com- 
pound, the  spikelets  densely  crowded  in 
capitate  clusters  of  ten  to  thirty  at  the 
ends  of  the  branched  rays ;  scales  greenish 
brown,  oblong-ovate,  bristle-pointed ;  sta- 
mens three;  style  three-parted;  perianth  ^  38.  — Meadow  Rush 
composed  of  six  bristles,  downwardly  (Scirpus  atrovirens) .  x  $. 


74 


JUNG  ACE  AE  (RUSH  FAMILY) 


barbed  for  most  of  their  length  but  smooth  near  the  base,  equal 
to  or  exceeding  the  achene  in  length,  the  latter  being  oblong, 
pointed,  three-sided,  dull  brownish  yellow.  (Fig.  38.) 

Means  of  control 

Drainage  of  the  land,  followed  by  a  cultivated  crop  given  very 
thorough  tillage  throughout  the  growing  season,  in  order  to  prevent 
seed  development  and  to  destroy  the  perennial  roots. 


SLENDER  RUSH 
Juncus  tennis,  Willd.    ' 

Other  English  names:  Wire-grass,  Field  Rush,  Yard  Rush. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by 


Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 
Seed-time:    July  to  September. 
Range:   Throughout  North  America 

and  most  parts  of  the  world. 
Habitat:     Lawns,    yards,    meadows, 

and  pastures. 

One  usually  thinks  of  marshy,  or  at 
least  damp,  ground  in  connection 
with  rushes,  but  the  Slender  Rush  is 
common  everywhere  and  seems 
equally  content  whether  the  ground 
be  wet  or  dry.  (Fig.  39.) 

Stems  thickly  tufted,  eight  inches 
to  two  feet  tall,  extremely  thin,  round, 
green,  wiry,  and  so  elastic  that  they 
are  always  erect,  no  matter  how 
much  trodden  upon  by  the  grazing 
animals,  which  refuse  to  eat  them. 
They  have  a  few  grassy  base  leaves 
which  dry  and  wither  away  as  the 
wiry,  flowering  stems  develop.  Flowers 
in  irregular  clusters  between  two 
FIG.  39.  — Slender  Rush  (Jun-  long»  flattened,  blade-like  leaves  at 
CMS  tennis),  x  5.  the  top  of  the  stem ;  they  have  six 


JUNCACEAE  (RUSH  FAMILY)  75 

sharp-pointed,  spreading  sepals,  a  single  pistil  with  style  very  short, 
and  six  stamens  -with  anthers  much  shorter  than  their  filaments. 
Later,  each  six-pointed  perianth  forms  a  cup  to  hold  the  tawny, 
ovoid,  papery-shelled  capsule,  filled  with  small  brown  seeds  which, 
under  the  lens,  are  shown  to  be  delicately  ridged  and  cross-lined. 

Means  of  control 

In  lawns  and  yards  the  weed  is  best  removed 
by  hand-pulling  before  seed  development.  In  fields, 
small  areas  may  be  treated  by  hoe-cutting,  but 
where  rankly  infested  the' ground  should  be  cleansed 
by  a  rotation  of  cultivated  crops  and  clover. 

COMMON   RUSH 
Jtincus  effusus,  L.  and  its  varieties 

Other  English  names :  Soft  Rush,  Bog  Rush. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by 

rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  July. 
Seed-time:  July  to  August. 
Range:   Throughout  North  America. 
Habitat :  Marshes,  wet  meadows,  and  pastures ;  muck 

farms.     In  the  South,  a  pest  in  rice  fields. 

In  any  place  where  the  soil  is  constantly  moist 
some  variety  of  this  rush  is  likely  to  be  found,  and 
it  holds  its  ground  most  sturdily.  It  grows  in 
dense  tufts  or  tussocks  from  stout  branching  root- 
stocks,  the  leafless  stems  one  to  three  feet  tall, 
erect  but  very  soft  and  pliant,  round,  green,  pithy, 
and  about  a  twelfth  of  an  inch  in  diameter.  Flowers 
very  numerous  in  dense,  spreading  cymose  clusters 
which  seem  to  burst  from  the  sides  of  the  stems, 
the  long  subtending  bracts  appearing  like  continued 
stems;  each  individual  flower  has  also  just  below  FIG.  40. — 

it  a   small,   ovate,   pointed   bract;     perianth    six-  SSX*??.0? 

*  .  Soft  Rush  (/un- 

pointed, green  at  first,  but  soon  turning  brown ;  p^  effusus,  var. 
stamens  three,  with  anthers  and  filaments  about  Pylaef).  x  j. 


76 


LILIACEAE  (LILT  FAMILY) 


the  same  length;  style  very  short.  Capsules  bluntly  oblong, 
three-celled,  filled  with  fine  brown  seed,  which  is  widely  sown  by 
the  wind.  (Fig.  40.) 

Means  of  control 

Drainage  of  the  ground,  and  a  season  or  two  of  thorough  culti- 
vation, are  necessary  in  order  to  destroy  the  system  of  branching 
rootstocks.  For  small  areas  they  may  be  grubbed  out. 


venenosus).    x  $. 


DEATH   CAMAS 

Zygddenus  venenosus,  S.  Wats. 

Other  English  names:    Poison  Camas,  Poison 

Sego,  Hog's  Potato,  Mystery  Grass. 
Native.    Perennial.    Propagates  by  seeds  and 

by  bulbs. 

Time  of  bloom  :   May  to  June. 
Seed-time:   June  to  July. 
Range:    South   Dakota  to  British  Columbia, 

southward  to  Nebraska,  Utah,  and  California. 
Habitat:   Shallow   ravines,  sides   of   foothills, 

upland  pastures. 

Western  stockmen,  particularly  the  sheep 
growers  of  Wyoming  and  Montana,  owe  to 
this  plant  a  loss  of  many  thousands  of  dollars 
yearly.  All  parts  of  it  are  poisonous  to  all 
grazing  animals,  but  cattle  usually  reject  it 
because  of  its  bitter  taste;  horses  are  even 
more  particular;  but  sheep  feed  with  little 
discrimination  and  are,  besides,  the  stock  most 
commonly  kept  on  the  high  benchlands  and 
foothills  where  the  plant  is  most  abundant. 
(Fig  41.) 

It  springs  from  an  elongated,  ovoid,  coated 
bulb,  a  half-inch  or  less  in  thickness,  the 
stems  six  to  twenty  inches  tall,  slender  and 
upright.  Leaves  very  narrow-  and  grass-like, 
deep  green,  with  roughened  margins  and  mid- 

rib>  usually  Partly  folded  and  with  sheathing 
base.     Flowers  greenish  or  yellowish  white,  in 


LILIACEAE  (LILY  FAMILY)  77 

narrow  simple  racemes  three  to  six  inches  long,  each  pedicel  subtended 
by  a  thin,  lance-like  bract ;  each  blossom  is  about  a  half -inch  broad, 
its  six  perianth  segments  triangulate  ovate  or  elliptic  and  narrowing 
abruptly  to  a  short  claw,  on  the  upper  side  of  which  is  an  irregular 
roundish  gland ;  stamens  six.  The  racemes  lengthen  as  the  fruits 
form  and  the  erect  capsules  are  longer  than  the  segments  of  the 
perianth,  which  are  persistent ;  capsules  three-lobed  and  three- 
celled,  each  cavity  containing  a  number  of  oblong  angled  seeds. 
After  the  fruits  mature  the  plants  wither,  dying  down  to  the  bulbs 
early  in  July. 

Means  of  control 

Herding  of  animals  away  from  the  plants  while  they  are  in  the 
growing,  succulent  stage  seems  to  be  the  only  plan  practicable  on 
the  open  range.  In  more  restricted  localities  the  weed  may  be  de- 
stroyed by  putting  the  land  under  cultivation  for  a  time.  The 
bulb  is  easily  and  quickly  pulled  from  the  ground  when  it  is  softened 
by  rains,  and  for  small  areas  even  the  expense  of  removal  by  hand 
labor  might  well  be  afforded  in  order  to  cleanse  the  soil  from  such  a 
dangerous  plague. 

COMMON   BUNCH-FLOWER 

Meldnthium  virginicum,  L. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  August. 

Seed-time:  July  to  September. 

Range:   Rhode  Island  and  New  York  to  Minnesota,  southward  to 

Georgia  and  Texas. 
Habitat:   Wet  grasslands,  marshes,  and  borders  of  streams. 

A  very  pernicious  plant,  nearly  related  to  the  Veratrum.  It  is 
specially  obnoxious  as  a  weed  of  wet  meadows,  for  its  long,  narrow 
leaves  make  it  much  less  conspicuous  among  the  grass  and  hay  than 
its  larger  and  more  deadly  relative.  It  is  poisonous  to  all  stock, 
but  particularly  so  to  horses. 

The  stem  springs  from  a  large,  thick  rootstock,  and  is  rather 
slender,  simple,  two  to  four  feet  or  more  high,  very  leafy,  and 
roughish-downy  near  the  top,  as  is  also  the  flower  stalk.  Leaves 
narrow  lance-shape  to  linear,  often  more  than  a  foot  long,  a  half- 


78  LILIACEAE  (LILY  FAMILY) 

inch  to  about  an  inch  wide,  the  lower  ones  narrowing  to  a  sheathing 
base,  the  upper  ones  much  smaller  and  sessile.  Flowers  in  a  large, 
dense,  terminal,  alternately  branching,  pyramidal  panicle,  six  to 
eighteen  inches  long,  each  pedicel  subtended  by  a  small,  long-ovate 
bract ;  each  blossom  about  a  half -inch  broad,  greenish  white  or 
creamy  yellow,  darkening  to  brown  as  they  wither.  They  have  no 
corolla  but  have  six  separate  clawed  sepals,  oblong  or  sometimes 
heart-shaped  or  even  slightly  auricled,  and  spread  flat,  the  claws 
bearing  the  six  stamens  and  usually  having  at  the  base  of  the  blades 
two  conspicuous  dark  glands ;  some  flowers  simply  staminate, 
others  pistillate,  others  perfect,  may  all  be  found  on  the  same  stalk, 
but  usually  the  lower  ones  are  sterile.  Capsules  about  a  half- 
inch  long,  three-celled,  the  persistent  styles  making  them  triple- 
pointed,  and  each  cavity  contains  about  ten  very  flat  and  broadly 
winged  brown  seeds,  easily  distributed  either  by  wind  or  by  water. 

Means  of  control 

From  small  areas  the  perennial  rootstocks  may  be  grubbed  out ; 
or,  when  of  but  one  season's  growth  and  before  they  have  penetrated 
the  soil  very  far,  they  can  be  quickly  pulled  when  the  ground  is  soft. 
Badly  infested  meadows  require  to  be  drained  and  put  under  culti- 
vation. In  every  case,  seeding  should  be  prevented  by  close  cutting 
at  the  beginning  of  bloom. 

AMERICAN   HELLEBORE 

Veratrum  viride,  Ait. 

Other  English  names:    False  Hellebore,   Swamp  Hellebore,  Green 

Hellebore,  Indian  Poke,  Earth  Gall,  Bugbane,  Itch-weed,  Duck- 

retter. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates   by   seeds   and   by   thick,   fleshy 

rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom:   May  to  July. 
Seed-time:   June  to  August. 
Range:   From  Quebec  to  British  Columbia  and  Alaska,  southward 

to  Georgia  and  Tennessee. 
Habitat :  Wet  meadows,  swamps,  and  along  streams  and  ditches. 

A  large,  coarse,  and  dangerously  poisonous  plant.  Cattle  and 
horses  have  been  killed  by  cropping  the  young  leaves  in  the  spring ; 


LILIACEAE  (LILY  FAMILY) 


79 


the  seeds  are  fatal  to  poultry,  and  even  human  life  has  been  lost 
through  the  mistaking  of  its  root  for  that  of  some  other  harmless 
plant.  This  fleshy  rootstock,  however,  is  medicinally  valuable, 
and  when  collected  after  the  leaves  have  died  in  autumn,  carefully 
cleansed,  and  dried,  it  is  worth  five  to  ten  cents  a  pound  in  the 
drug  market.  (Fig.  42.) 

Leaves  appear  first  in  the 
spring,  often  as  early  as  March, 
thrusting  up  through  the  wet 
and  sometimes  frozen  soil  like 
large  spearheads ;  they  are 
at  first  of  a  delicate  light  green 
color,  strongly  lengthwise  veined 
and  plaited  like  a  fan.  When 
fully  unfolded  the  outer  and 
lower  leaves  are  usually  more 
than  a  foot  long  and  half  as 
wide,  broadly  elliptic  in  shape, 
pointed  at  both  ends,  with 
sheathing  clasp  at  base;  those 
ascending  the  stem  become  suc- 
cessively smaller  as  they  ap- 
proach the  top.  Stalk  stout, 
round,  grooved,  two  to  six  feet 
tall,  without  branches  except 
in  the  large  panicle  at  its  sum- 
mit; stalk,  foliage,  and  panicle 
are  all  hairy.  Flowers  in  a 
dense  slenderly  pyramidal  clus- 
ter, six  inches  to  nearly  two  feet 
long,  the  pedicels  shorter  than  the  bracts  at  their  bases.  The 
blossoms  are  about  a  half -inch  broad,  pale  yellowish  green,  turning 
brown  as  they  wither,  with  six  spreading,  oblong  sepals,  united 
at  the  base  and  minutely  toothed  and  fringed  at  the  edge  ;  stamens 
six,  shorter  than  the  perianth ;  styles  three,  persistent.  Staminate, 
pistillate,  and  perfect  flowers  may  all  be  found  on  the  same  stalk, 
but  usually  the  lowermost  blossoms  are  sterile.  Capsules  nearly  an 
inch  long,  ovoid,  three-lobed,  three-celled,  and  containing  many 


FIG.  42.  —  American   Hellebore  (Vera- 
trum  viride) .     X  i. 


80  LILIACEAE  (LILY  FAMILY) 

large,  flat,  broadly  winged  brown  seeds  which  easily  sail  on  the 
wind  or  float  on  water. 

Means  of  control 

For  infested  meadows,  drainage  and  cultivation  is  the  best  rem- 
edy. In  places  where  that  is  impracticable,  the  rootstocks  should 
be  grubbed  out  —  and  perhaps  sold  for  sufficient  to  pay  for  the 
labor  of  extraction.  Seeding  should  in  every  case  be  prevented  by 
close  cutting  while  in  first  bloom. 

FIELD   GARLIC 
Allium  vinedle,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Wild  Garlic,  Crow  Garlic,  Wild  Onion. 
Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates    by    secondary    underground 
bulbs,  by  bulblets  produced  on  the  flowering  stalk,  and  rarely  by 


Time  of  bloom:   Late  May  to  June. 

Seeds :  Seldom  produced.  Aerial  bulblets  ripen  at  the  same  time  as 
winter  wheat  and  rye  and  are  harvested  with  them. 

Range :  Massachusetts  to  South  Carolina,  westward  to  the  Missis- 
sippi River. 

Habitat :   Prefers  sandy  loam ;   fields,  meadows,  and  pastures. 

In  localities  where  it  is  at  all  common,  this  is  one  of  the  most 
injurious  of  weeds  and  most  difficult  to  destroy.  Its  presence  in 
pastures  where  dairy  stock  is  grazing  is  ruinous  to  the  quality  of 
butter  and  cheese  produced,  and  any  food  prepared  with  garlic- 
flavored  milk  is  unpalatable.  The  very  flesh  of  animals  that  have 
eaten  the  plant  is  permeated  with  its  odor  and  taste.  It  is  also  a 
pest  in  wheat  fields.  In  the  three  states  of  Maryland,  Virginia,  and 
Tennessee,  where  the  weed  is  extremely  troublesome,  the  loss  to  the 
wheat  crop  alone  is  estimated  by  a  government  report  to  be  more 
than  a  million  dollars  annually.  The  bulblets  are  about  the  same 
size  and  weight  as  a  grain  of  wheat,  making  it  impossible  to  clean 
them  out  at  harvest  time  even  with  the  best  of  sieves  and  fans. 
But  if  infested  grain  is  kept  for  several  months  and  subjected  to 
freezing  cold,  the  bulblets  dry  and  shrivel,  becoming  light  enough  to 
be  fanned  out  with  a  good  machine.  Experiments  have  been  con- 
ducted in  the  seed  laboratory  at  Washington  with  drying  machines 


LILIACEAE  (LILY  FAMILY) 


81 


such  as  are  used  at  elevators  for  the  drying  of  commercial  grains. 

It  was  demonstrated  that  the  specific  gravity  of  the  wheat  grains 

was  increased  by  the  process  and  that  of  the  bulbiets  decreased, 

enabling  the  crop  to  be  cleaned  and  made  marketable  without 

loss  of  time.     Flour  is  spoiled  when  even  a  small 

number  of  Garlic  "kernels"  are  ground  with  the 

wheat.     Not  only  so,  but  a  moist,  sticky  coating  is 

formed  on  the  rollers  that  crush  the  grains,  com- 

pelling stoppage  of  the  mill  so  that  the  machinery 

may  be  cleaned.     In  mills  that  make  stone-ground 

flour  the  damage  is  still   greater,  for   there   it   is 

found  that  the  taint  can  be  entirely  removed  only 

by  redressing  the  buhrs  tones.     (Fig.  43.) 

The  plants  are  one  to  three  feet  tall,  springing 
from  small,  ovoid,  membranous-coated  bulbs. 
Leaves  slim,  deep  green,  hollow,  round  in  cross  sec- 
tion, borne  below  the  middle  of  the  slender  flower- 
ing stalk,  which  bears  at  its  top  an  erect,  dense 
cluster  or  umbel  of  small,  pinkish  purple  flowers, 
sometimes  nearly  white,  each  flower  having  six 
pointed  perianth  segments  with  a  stamen  inserted 
at  base;  pedicels  threadlike,  often  nearly  an  inch 
long.  Below  the  flower-head  are  two  papery, 
pointed  bracts  which  soon  fall  away.  As  the 
flowers  wither,  their  places  are  taken  by  aerial 
bulbiets,  each  about  the  size  of  a  wheat  kernel 
and  tipped  with  a  "whisker,"  or  "filament,  nearly 
an  inch  long.  There  may  be  twenty  -five  or  thirty 
to  a  hundred  bulbiets  in  a  seed-head.  Lest  it 

should   not   be   enough,   the    plant    works    below 

,  i  i     11  11     i    a    i  » 

ground  too;    secondary  bulbs,  called      cloves      or 

"  toes,"  develop  at  the  base  of  the  old  bulb,  and 
in  the  fall  form  thick  tufts  of  young  plants  which  remain  green  all 
winter,  ready  to  repeat  the  cycle  of  growth  in  the  spring.  New 
infestations  are  usually  effected  by  transportation  of  the  bulbiets, 
and  the  purchase  of  strawberry  plants  from  infested  localities  has 
been  known  to  start  a  new  "station  "  by  means  of  the  tiny  under- 
ground bulbs  or  "  cloves." 


FIG.  43.  — 

F*f,ld    Gar.llc 
(Allium     mne- 


82  LIL1ACEAE  (LILY  FAMILY} 

Means  of  control 

Hand-pulling  just  at  flowering  time  is  a  good  method  if  the  plants 
are  not  too  numerous  to  make  it  impracticable.  The  ground  must 
-be  very  soft  and  care  must  be  taken  to  leave  no  "cloves"  behind 
that  will  render  the  work  of  no  account.  Quicker  and  more 
effective  is  the  use  of  crude  carbolic  acid  applied  with  a  common 
machine  oil-can ;  a  few  drops  on  a  plant  or  a  small  sprinkle  on  a 
tuft  will  kill  them  all.  The  acid  should  be  very  little,  if  at  all,  di- 
luted. This  treatment  may  be  given  before  the  grass  has  started 
or  even  before  the  ground  has  thawed  in  the  spring,  when  the  green 
Garlic  tufts  show  plainest.  If  used  during  the  grazing  season, 
stock  must  be  kept  from  the  fields  until  rain  has  washed  the  poison 
into  the  soil.  This  method  seems  expensive  in  time  and  labor,  but 
it  is  not  more  so  than  the  application  of  Paris  green  to  potato 
plants ;  it  is  certainly  the  best  way  of  removing  the  pest  from  lawns, 
and  was  the  one  used  to  clean  out  a  very  abundant  stand  of  it 
which  at  one  time  impaired  the  beauty  of  the  eight  acres  of  green- 
sward surrounding  the  White  House  at  Washington. 

In  cultivated  ground  the  task  of  extermination  can  seldom  be 
completed  in  one  season.  When  undertaking  to  destroy  Field 
Garlic  with  the  plow,  the  work  should  be  done  as  late  in  the  fall 
as  practicable,  the  depth  of  the  furrow  being  so  gauged  as  to  bring 
as  many  as  possible  of  the  bulbs  to  the  surface  or  near  it,  where  they 
will  alternately  freeze  and  thaw.  Some  plants  will  survive,  of 
course,  to  be  fought  in  the  same  way  with  early  spring  cultivation, 
followed  by  a  hoed  crop,  well  tilled  until  midsummer ;  this  in  turn 
to  be  followed  by  a  crop  of  clover.  Liming  and  fertilizing  the  soil 
helps  better  plants  to  crowd  out  the  weed. 

In  infested  pastures,  sheep  may  be  induced  to  keep  the  Garlic 
nibbled  down  by  salting  a  number  of  tufts  from  time  to  time  so  as  to 
overcome  their  natural  dislike  to  its  taste.  If  deprived  of  leaf 
growth  for  an  entire  season,  the  underground  bulbs  wither  and  rot. 
In  some  instances  success  has  been  attained  in  mellow  soil  by  loosen- 
ing it  with  the  plow  and  turning  in  hogs  to  root  out  and  eat  the 
bulbs.  It  should  be  remembered  that  the  meat  of  any  animal 
which  has  eaten  Garlic  takes  the  flavor  and  is  unmarketable.  When 
wanted  for  that  purpose,  they  must  be  withdrawn  from  such  graz- 
ing and  fed  for  several  days  on  a  different  diet. 


LILIACEAE  (LILY  FAMILY) 


83 


MEADOW   GARLIC 
Allium  canadense,  L. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  aerial  bulblets,  occasionally  by 


Time  of  bloom:   May  to  June. 

Seeds:   Seldom  produced ;  aerial  bulblets  ripen  in  July  and  August. 
Range:   Maine  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
Habitat:   Moist  meadows,  pastures,  and  thickets. 

The  range  of  native  species  of  Onion  or  Garlic  is  more  extensive, 
but  not  one  of  them  is  so  rank  in  taste  and  odor,  or  so  difficult  to 
exterminate,  as  the  immigrant  Field  Garlic.  Most 
of  them  have  a  preference  for  low,  moist  soil  and 
the  shade  of  thickets,  and  disappear  before  drain- 
age and  cultivation.  This  one  is  most  adaptive 
and  therefore  most  troublesome.  Its  bulblets 
are  slightly  larger  than  grains  of  wheat  or  rye,  so 
that  they  are  not  difficult  of  removal  with  a  sieve 
of  proper-sized  mesh.  But  often  the  weed  is  a 
plague  of  pasture  and  meadow,  to  the  detriment 
of  dairy  products.  (Fig.  44.) 

Bulb  small,  distinguishable  from  that  of  the 
Field  Garlic  by  its  coat,  which  is  fibrous  and  netted 
instead  of  a  soft,  membranous  skin,  and  by  the 
leaves,  which  rise  directly  from  the  bulb  instead 
of  being  borne  part  of  the  way  up  the  flowerstalk. 
and  are  flattened  in  cross  section.  Flowerstalk 
eight  inches  to  two  feet  in  height,  round,  and 
smooth;  umbel  large,  the  flowers  pink,  sometimes 
almost  white,  very  numerous.  Aerial  bulblets 
ovoid,  plump,  their  capillary  appendage  sometimes 

exceeding  an  inch  in  length.  n/rFljG'   4/^'  r~ 

_ ,  .        .          ,  Meadow   dame 

Measures  for  extermination  the  same  as  recom-    (Allium     cana- 

mended  for  Field  Garlic.  dense),    x  i 

SAW  BRIER 
Smllax  glaiica,  Walt. 

Other  English  names:    Chain  Brier,  Prickly  Bamboo,  False  Sarsa- 

parilla. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  tubers. 


84 


LILIACEAE  (LILT  FAMILY} 


Time  of  bloom  :  May  to  June. 

Seed-time:  July  to  September. 

Range:  Massachusetts  to  Kansas,  southward  to  Florida  and  Texas. 

Habitat:   Cultivated  crops,  fields,  meadows,  waste  places. 

Most  of  the  Green-briers  have  a  preference  for  woods  and  thickets, 
where  they  seldom  prove  very  annoying  to  the  farmer,  but  this  one 
comes  out  into  the  open  and  will  invade  almost  any  crop  that  may  be 
f  growing  in  the  dry  and  mellow  soil 

which  it  prefers.  Birds  eat  its 
berries  and  void  the  seeds  unharmed 
by  digestion,  and  sometimes  the 
seeds  are  distributed  while  still  on 
the  dried  stalks,  in  baled  hay  and 
straw;  also  the  long,  knotted  root- 
stocks  are  broken  and  the  tubers 
scattered  by  farming  tools  in  or- 
dinary cultivation.  (Fig.  45.) 

Stem  perennial,  round,  slender, 
set  with  scattering,  rather  stout, 
slightly  curved  prickles  ;  but  the 
branches  and  twigs  are  angled  and 
unarmed.  Leaves  broadly  ovate, 
smooth,  entire,  five-nerved,  covered 
with  a  bloom  on  the  under  side  and 
sometimes  above,  with  short  petioles 
bearing  at  the  base  on  each  side 
a  long  tendril  ;  these  tendril-bearing 
petioles  are  persistent  even  when  the 

blades  of  the  leaves  fal1  awa^  in 

autumn.  Flowers  in  umbels  on 
slender,  flattened,  axillary  peduncles  ;  they  are  dioecious,  yellowish 
white,  very  small,  with  six-parted  perianth  in  two  rows  of  three,  soon 
falling  away;  the  sterile  flowers  have  six  stamens,  with  thread- 
like filaments  inserted  on  the  very  base  ;  the  fertile  flowers  have 
three  short  and  spreading,  almost  sessile  stigmas  above  a  three- 
celled  ovary  which  develops  a  small,  three-seeded  berry,  ripening 
the  first  year,  jet-black  and  glossy  when  the  glaucous  film  which 
covers  it  is  rubbed  away. 


FIG.    45.  — 


(Smilax 


SAURURACEAE   (LIZARD-TAIL  FAMILY)  85 

Means  of  control 

Put  the  land  to  a  crop  requiring  hoe-cultivation ;  the  use  of  a 
cultivator  only  serves  to  spread  the  pest  by  scattering  the  tubers. 
Small  thickets  should  be  grubbed  out,  or  the  tops  cut  and  the  roots 
treated  with  caustic  soda  or  carbolic  acid. 

YERBA   MANSA 
Anemdpsis  calif  ornica,  Hook. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom:   May  to  September. 

Seed-time:   June  to  October. 

Range :    Southern  California  to  Southern  Utah,  Arizona,  and  New 

Mexico. 
Habitat :   Moist,  saline  soil ;   troublesome  in  cultivated  crops. 

The  most  troublesome  part  of  this  plant  is  its  thick,  creeping 
rootstock,  which  is  very  acrid,  astringent,  and  strong-scented. 
Stem  scape-like,  six  inches  to  two  feet  tall,  with  a  large,  broadly 
ovate  or  oblong,  clasping  leaf  just 
above  the  middle,  in  the  axil  of 
which  is  a  fascicle  of  one  to  three 
much  smaller  petioled  leaves ;  root 
leaves  thick,  oblong,  with  rounded 
apex  and  heart-shaped  base,  usually 
slightly  broadened  toward  the  tip, 
entire,  two  to  eight  inches  in 
length,  on  petioles  about  as  long  as 
the  blades,  dilated  and  sheathing 
at  base.  Flowers  very  small, 
densely  crowded  on  a  thickish 
conical,  terminal  spike  about  an 
inch  long,  at  the  base  of  which  is 
a  persistent  involucre  of  six  or 
eight  oblong,  showy,  white  bracts 
about  an  inch  in  length,  having  the 
appearance  of  petals  and  resembling 
a  large  white  anemone.  The  true  FIG.  46.  —  Yerba  Mansa  (Anemop- 
flowers  on  the  spike  have  no  sis  calif  ornica).  x  J. 


86  URTICACEAE  (NETTLE  FAMILY) 

perianth  but  have  six  to  eight  stamens  and  a  one-celled  ovary, 
sunk  in  the  fleshy  rachis  of  the  spike  and  having  three  or  four 
spreading  stigmas ;  each  flower  is  subtended  by  a  minute  white 
bract.  The  whole  plant  has  a  very  pungent,  spicy  odor.  Fruit  a 
berry  or  capsule,  with  three  to  four  carpels  each  containing  six  to 
ten  very  small  rounded  seeds.  (Fig.  46.) 

Means  of  control 

Drainage ;    followed   by   intensive   hoe-cultivation,    alternated 
with  heavy  seeding  to  grass  or  clover. 

HEMP 

Cdnnabis  saliva,  L. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 
Seed-time:  August  to  November. 

Range:  New  Brunswick  to  On- 
tario and  Minnesota,  southward 
to  North  Carolina,  Tennessee, 
and  Kansas. 

Habitat:  Barnyards,  waste 
places. 

Seeds  of  hemp  are  often  an 
impurity  of  other  seeds,  notably 
of  oats,  particularly  if  grown  in 
the  hemp-raising  districts  of  the 
country.  The  writer  first  saw 
the  plant  flourishing  finely  in  a 
vacant  lot  behind  a  city  livery 
stable.  (Fig.  47.) 

Stem  three  to  ten  feet  in  height, 
rather  stout,  erect  and  holding 
its  branches  nearly  upright,  the 
inner  bark  fibrous  and  extremely 
tough  and  strong,  the  whole 
plant  rough-hairy  and  strong- 
FIG.  47. -Hemp '(Cannot  «*«,).  scented-  Leaves  compound,  with 
x  j.  five  to  seven  very  slender  leaflets, 


URTICACEAE  (NETTLE  FAMILY) 


87 


attached  to  their  foot-stalk  like  fingers,  all  at  the  same  base ;  leaflets 
three  to  six  inches  in  length,  a  quarter-inch  to  an  inch  wide,  pointed 
at  both  ends,  sharply  toothed.  Flowers  dioecious,  the  sterile  ones 
in  axillary,  compound  panicles,  each  with  five  hairy  sepals  and  five 
drooping  stamens ;  the  fertile  ones  in  small,  erect,  axillary  spikes, 
leafy-bracted,  the  calyx  entire  and  clasping  the  ovary.  Achene 
compressed  ovoid,  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  long. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  development  by  cutting  or  pulling  while  the  plant 
is  in  early  bloom. 


TALL,   OR   SLENDER,   NETTLE 
Urtlca  grdcilis,  Ait. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  October. 

Seed-time:   August  until  cut  off  by  frost. 

Range:   Nova  Scotia  to  British  Columbia,  southward  to  the  Caro- 

linas,  Missouri,  and  Kansas. 
Habitat :  Rich  soils ;  barnyards,  roadsides, 

waste  places. 

Stem  two  to  seven  feet  in  height,  slen- 
der, erect,  usually  simple,  but  sometimes 
with  a  few  ascending  branches,  hollow 
and  ridged,  sparingly  set  with  stinging 
hairs.  Leaves  opposite,  slender,  lance- 
shaped,  rounded  at  base,  three  to  six 
inches  long,  dark  green  above,  paler  below, 
three  to  five-nerved,  sharply  saw-toothed, 
also  sparsely  set  with  stinging  hairs ;  peti- 
oles slender,  more  than  half  as  long  as  the 
breadth  of  the  leaf.  Flowers  small,  green- 
ish, sometimes  dioecious,  but  more  often 
on  the  same  plant,  the  staminate  ones  near 
the  top  and  the  fertile  flowers  in  the  axils 
below,  hanging  in  long,  compound  clus-  FlG  48.  _  slrender  Nettle 
ters;  sterile  flowers  have  four  sepals,  each  (Urtica  gradlis). 


88 


URTICACEAE  (NETTLE  FAMILY) 


with  a  stamen  inserted  at  base;  fertile  flowers  also  have  four 
sepals,  the  inner  pair  curving  over  and  persistently  enclosing  the 
seed  as  it  matures.  Achenes  very  small,  flattened  ovoid,  numer- 
ous. (Fig.  48.) 

Means  of  control 

Close  cutting  in  June  and  again  in  August,  using  dry  salt  to  check 
recovery.  In  yards  and  roadsides  the  rootstocks  should  be  grubbed 
out  and  destroyed.  The  plants  cut  or  pulled  should  be  dried  for  a 
few  days  and  then  burned  so  as  to  ensure  destruction  of  the  seeds. 


GREAT,    OR   STINGING,   NETTLE 

Urtlca  dioica,  L. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:  July  to  September. 
Seed-time:   September  until  cut  off  by  frost. 

Range :  Nova  Scotia  to  Ontario  and  Minnesota, 
southward  to  South  Carolina  and  Missouri. 

Habitat :  Waste  places  and  roadsides. 

Not  a  very  common  plant,  which  is  fortunate, 
since  its  stings  are  so  venomous  as  to  cause  acute 
discomfort  for  a  considerable  time.  It  is  well 
to  know  that  dilute  alcohol  will  almost  im- 
mediately relieve  the  burning  and  itching  pain. 
(Fig.  49.) 

Stem  two  to  four  feet  tall,  stout,  four-ridged, 
hollow,  densely  set  with  fiercely  stinging  hairs. 
Leaves  long-oval,  long-pointed,  one  to  three 
inches  wide  and  three  to  six  inches  long,  three 
to  five-nerved,  rounded  or  heart-shaped  at  base, 
coarsely  but  sharply  toothed,  clothed  with  the 
venohious  hairs ;  petioles  much  shorter  than  the 
blades.  The  flowers  are  small  and  greenish, 
similar  to  those  of  the  preceding  species,  growing 
in  large,  compound  clusters  from  the  axils  of 
ing  Settle  (Urtica  tne  uPPer  leaves,  the  fertile  and  the  staminate 


dioica).      X 


flowers  usually  on  different  plants. 


URTICACEAE  (NETTLE  FAMILY) 


Means  of  suppression  the  same  as  for  the  Slender  Nettle. 

Both  this  plant  and  the  Slender  Nettle  yield  a  fiber  said  to  be 
stronger  and  finer  than  that  of  flax,  but  no  economic  use  has  ever 
been  made  of  them. 

WESTERN   NETTLE 

Urtica  holosericea,  Nutt. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   August  to  September. 
Seed-time :    September  to  October. 

Range :  From  Utah  and  the  Wasatch  Mountains  westward  through- 
out California. 
Habitat :  Waste  places,  borders  of  streams. 


A  larger  and  stouter  plant  than 
either  of  the  common  Eastern 
Nettles,  and  possessed  of  vicious 
stings.  Stem  erect,  unbranched, 
bristly  hairy,  frequently  attaining 
to  ten  feet  in  height  though  more 
commonly  four  to  seven  feet  tall. 
Leaves  three  to  six  inches  long, 
ovate  to  lance-shape  but  obtuse 
at  base,  with  short,  stout  petioles 
and  oblong  stipules ;  they  are 
rather  thick,  hairy  on  both  sides, 
but  especially  so  on  the  lower 
surface.  The  staminate  flowers 
are  in  loose,  slenderly  branching, 
axillary  panicles  nearly  as  long  as 
the  leaves ;  pistillate  panicles  much 
shorter  and  more  crowded,  the  per- 
sistent membranaceous  calyx-lobe 
enfolding  the  achenes.  (Fig.  50.) 

Means  of  control 

Cultivation  of  the  ground  for 
the  purpose  of  destroying  the  per- 
ennial roots ;  or,  small  areas  may 


FIG.  50.  — Western    Nettle   (Urtica 
holosericea).     X  $. 


90  URTICACEAE  (NETTLE  FAMILY) 

be  grubbed  out.     When  tillage  is  impracticable,  close  and  per- 
sistent cutting  will  prevent  seeding  and  starve  the  roots. 

FALSE  NETTLE 

Boehmbria  cylindrica,  Willd. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   July  to  September. 

Seed-time :   September  until  cut  off  by  frost. 

Range:    Quebec  and  Ontario  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  Florida 

and  Kansas. 
Habitat :   Moist  soil ;   waste  places. 

Stems  six  inches  to  two  feet  or  more  in  height,  erect,  round, 
smooth  or  sometimes  slightly  hairy,  simple  or  with  few  branches. 
Leaves  long  ovate  to  lance-shaped, 
pointed,  three-nerved,  sharply  toothed, 
much  resembling  those  of  the  nettles 
but  without  stinging  hairs ;  petioles 
long,  slender,  smooth.  Flowers  may 
be  dioecious  or  the  two  kinds  inter- 
mixed on  the  same  plant,  more  often 
the  latter,  but  in  either  case  they  are 
in  densely  crowded,  elongated,  axillary 
spikes,  often  leafy  at  the  tips ;  the 
sterile  ones  very  like  those  of  the 
True  Nettle,  but  the  fertile  ones  having 
an  urn-shaped  persistent  calyx  en- 
closing the  ovary,  and  later  enfolding 
the  ripened  achenes.  (Fig.  51.) 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for 
common  Nettles.  As  they  are  with- 
out stings,  small  areas  may  be  readily 
hand-pulled. 


FIG.  Sl.-False  Nettle  (Boek- 

meria  cylindrica).     X  I  Rbmex  Patientia,  L. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  June  to  August. 
Seed-time:  July  to  September. 


POLYGONACEAE  (BUCKWHEAT  FAMILY)  91 

Range:    Newfoundland  to  Ontario,  southward  to  Pennsylvania, 

Ohio,  and  Kansas. 
Habitat :  Rich  soil ;  farmyards,  waste  places,  roadsides. 

A  very  large  species,  with  a  stout  and  very  deep  taproot.  Stem 
sometimes  attaining  to  eight  or  ten  feet  in  height  but  usually 
two  to  six  feet  tall,  stout,  erect,  grooved, 
and  smooth,  simple  or  sparingly  branched. 
The  large  basal  leaves  are  sometimes 
more  than  two  feet  in  length,  oblong 
lance-shaped,  broadening  above  the  base, 
smooth  but  with  thick  ribs  and  veins 
and  long  petioles ;  stem  leaves  long- 
pointed  and  much  smaller.  Panicle  very 
large  and  dense,  sometimes  nearly  two 
feet  in  length,  its  branches  nearly 
erect,  often  with  leafy  bracts  among 
the  whorled  flowers.  These  are  small 
and  green  with  six  sepals,  six  stamens 
and  three  styles,  the  calyx  differing 
from  that  of  the  following  species  in 
that  only  one  of  the  three  enlarged, 
heart-shaped,  veiny  inner  sepals  or 
valves  has  a  small  tubercle  on  its  back, 
or  sometimes  merely  a  thickening  of 
the  base  of  its  midrib.  Pedicels  slen- 
der with  a  swollen  joint  near  the  base. 
Fruit  an  achene,  sharply  three-angled, 
about  one-eighth  of  an  inch  long,  smooth, 
shining,  light  brown.  (Fig.  52.) 

Controlled,  like  the  Curled  Dock,  by 
deep  cutting  or  grubbing  or  by  hand-   pIG.    52.  _  Patience  Dock 
pulli  ng  when  the  ground  is  sufficiently  soft.      (Rumex  Patientia) .    X&. 

NARROW-LEAVED   DOCK 
Rumex  crispus,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Yellow  Dock,  Curled  Dock. 
Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:  June  to  September. 


92 


POLYGONACEAE  (BUCKWHEAT  FAMILY') 


Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range :  Throughout  the  United  States  and  southern  British  America. 

Habitat:   Meadows,  pastures,  farmyards,  and  waste  places. 

The  root  of  this  plant  is  spindle-shaped,  thick,  yellow,  often  two 
or  three  feet  long.  Stem  two  to  four  feet  tall,  erect,  slender, 
smooth,  finely  grooved,  simple  or  with  a  few  branches  near  the  top. 
Basal  leaves  oblong  lance-shaped, 
six  inches  to  more  than  a  foot  in 
length,  with  margins  usually  wavy- 
curled  ;  petioles  long  and  stout ; 
upper  leaves  much  smaller,  with 
shorter  petioles.  Flowers  in  large, 
simple  or  compound  racemes,  often 
more  than  a  foot  in  length,  growing 
in  crowded  whorls  on  slender,  jointed 
pedicels ;  they  are  small  and  green- 
ish, without  petals,  but  having  six 
stamens ;  styles  three,  with  stigmas 
tufted ;  calyx  of  six  sepals  in 
double  rows  of  three,  the  inner  ones 
heart-shaped,  beautifully  veined, 
uniting  to  form  valves  that  enclose 
the  seed,  giving  it  triple  wings, 
which  assists  its  distribution  by 
wind ;  all  three  valves  have  a  rather 
thick,  rounded,  corky  tubercle  on 
the  back.  Achenes  three-sided, 
plump,  with  rounded  tips,  smooth, 
shining,  about  one-twelfth  of  an  inch 
long.  Birds  are  very  fond  of  them 
and  forage  on  the  brown,  weather- 
beaten  panicles  all  winter.  They  are  a  very  common  impurity 
of  clover  and  alfalfa  seeds  ;  and,  though  the  task  of  removing  them 
is  difficult,  it  is  not  so  strenuous  as  grubbing  Docks.  (Fig.  53.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production.       In  order  to  destroy  the  perennial 
roots,  deep  and  frequent  cutting,  with  hoe  or  spud,  is  necessary 


FIG.  53.  —  Yellow  or  Curled  Dock 
(Rumex  crispus).     X  |. 


POLYGONACEAE  (BUCKWHEAT  FAMILY)  93 

so  that  they  will  be  starved  of  the  food  assimilated  by  the  leaves. 
Or  when  the  ground  is  very  soft  the  roots  may  be  removed  entire, 
by  prying  with  a  spade  set  into  the  ground  vertically  by  the  side 
of  the  root  and  pulling  hard  at  the  same  time  with  the  other  hand. 
The  roots  of  all  three  of  the  immigrant  Docks  here  described  are 
used  in  medicine;  and  the  United  States  annually  imports  more 
than  a  hundred  thousand  pounds  to  supply  the  drug  trade,  at  a 
cost  of  about  a  half-million  dollars.  If  properly  cleaned,  split  length- 
wise, and  dried,  they  might  be  made  to  pay  for  the  labor  of  their 
extraction  from  the  soil. 


WILLOW-LEAVED   DOCK 
Riimex  mexicanus,  Meisn. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  May  to  September. 

Seed-time:  July  to  November. 

Range :  Labrador  to  British  Columbia,  southward  to  Maine,  Michi- 
gan, and  Minnesota,  and  along  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  central 
Mexico. 

Habitat :   Moist,  rich  soil ;   fields,  low  meadows,  waste  places. 

This  weed  is  tolerant  of  soil  which  is  somewhat  brackish  and 
it  often  damages  the  hay  crop  from  the  salt-marsh  meadows 
along  the  Coast.  It  has  also  made  its  way  to  Europe,  where  it 
is  regarded  with  much  dislike. 

Taproot  rather  stout,  penetrating  the  soil  to  a  great  depth. 
Stems  tufted,  slender,  ascending,  flexuous,  grooved,  smooth,  and 
pale  green,  one  to  three  feet  tall,  usually  simple.  Leaves  narrow, 
lance-shaped,  pointed  at  both  ends,  the  sides  often  nearly  folded 
together;  petioles  rather  short.  Racemes  erect,  the  whorls  very 
dense;  pedicels  scarcely  exceeding  the  calyx-lobes,  jointed  near 
the  base ;  calyx  olive  to  reddish  brown,  the  valves  triangular- 
ovate,  delicately  veined,  all  tubercled.  Achenes  dark  red,  smooth 
and  shining ;  frequently  an  impurity  of  clover  and  alfalfa  seed,  so 
extending  the  range  of  a  most  troublesome  weed. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Rumex  crispus.  In  well-tilled 
ground  none  of  these  large,  deep-rooted  weeds  attain  sufficient  size 
to  be  very  troublesome. 


94 


POLYGONACEAE  (BUCKWHEAT  FAMILY} 


BROAD-LEAVED  DOCK 
Rumex  obtusifolius,  L. 

Other  English  names :  Bitter  Dock,  Butter  Dock,  Blunt-leaved  Dock. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  August. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range :  Throughout  the  United  States  and  southern  British  America. 

Habitat:   Fields,  meadows,  pastures,  and  waste  places. 

A  large,  very  robust  plant,  in  many  localities,  the  most  common 
of  the  docks.  Stem  stout,  erect,  grooved,  simple  or  with  a  few 
branches,  somewhat  rough,  especially  near  the  top.  Lower  leaves 
often  more  than  a  foot  in  length  and  half 
as  broad,  oblong,  with  heart-shaped  bases 
and  rounded  or  bluntly  pointed  tips,  the 
veins  somewhat  hairy  on  the  under  side ; 
petioles  long  and  thick;  stem  leaves  nar- 
rower and  more  pointed,  all  petioled. 
Panicle  large  and  loose,  the  whorls  some- 
what distant,  often  subtended  by  leafy 
bracts ;  pedicels  slender,  jointed  below  the 
middle,  longer  than  the  calyx-lobes ;  the 
valves,  which  enclose  the  fruit,  pointed- 
ovate,  or  nearly  halberd-shaped,  strongly 
net-veined,  sharply  toothed  at  the  side, 
and  only  one  of  them  bearing  a  tubercle 
on  the  back.  Achene  dark  red,  smooth 
and  shining,  its  three  faces  concave  and 
its  angles  faintly  margined. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Rumex 
crispus.     (Fig.  54.) 

TALL   SORREL 
Rumex  Acetbsa,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Garden  Sorrel,  Sour 
FIG.    54.  —  Broad-  Dock. 

leaved  Dock  (Rumex  ob-         Introduced.      Perennial.      Propagates   by 
tusifohus).     x  i  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 


POLTGONACEAE  (BUCKWHEAT  FAMILY) 


95 


Time  of  bloom:   May  to  July. 

Seed-time:   June  to  August. 

Range :  Eastern  Canada  to  Vermont,  New  York,  and  Pennsylvania : 

locally  south  and  west. 
Habitat:   Gardens,  fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

Usually  an  escape  from  gardens 
where  it  has  been  cultivated  for 
"greens,"  though  there  are  much 
better  pot  herbs  which  are  not  so 
unruly.  Stems  eighteen  inches  to 
three  feet  tall,  erect,  simple,  smooth, 
slightly  grooved.  Leaves  two  to 
five  inches  long,  arrow-shaped,  the 
auricles  at  base  not  spreading ;  basal 
leaves  on  long  and  slender  petioles, 
those  on  the  stems  nearly  sessile. 
Flowers  dioecious,  the  racemes  erect, 
and  crowded,  or  interrupted.  Calyx 
green,  the  valves  winged  in  fruit, 
rounded  at  apex,  heart-shaped  at  base. 
Achenes  dark  reddish  brown,  pointed, 
three-angled,  smooth  and  shining. 
(Fig.  55.) 

Means  of  control 

Frequent  and  close  cutting  through- 
out the  growing  season  will  prevent 
seed  development  and  starve  the 
roots tocks.  Small  areas  should  be 
grubbed  out  and  destroyed. 

FIELD   SORREL 

Rumex  Acetosella,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Horse  Sorrel,  Sheep  Sorrel,  Redtop  Sorrel, 
Sourweed,  Sourgrass. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom:   May  to  September. 

Seed-lime:   June  to  November. 

Range:  All  parts  of  North  America  except  the  extreme  North. 

Habitat:  Rather  dry,  sandy  soil;  fields,  meadows,  pastures,  road- 
sides, and  waste  places. 


FIG.  55.  — Tall  Sorrel 
(Rumex  Acetosa).    X  $. 


96 


POLYGON  ACE  AE  (BUCKWHEAT  FAMILY) 


Rootstocks  extensively  creeping,  branched,  yellowish,  tough 
and  fibrous,  with  tufts  of  feeding  rootlets  at  intervals  of  a  few 
inches.  Stems  three  inches  to  a 
foot  or  a  little  more  in  height, 
slender,  erect  or  nearly  so,  usually 
simple.  Leaves  halberd-shaped, 
long-petioled,  the  basal  auricles 
spreading;  stem  leaves  often  with- 
out auricles  ;  they  are  smooth,  light 
green,  papillose,  filled  with  an  acid 
juice  —  which  is  rather  pleasant  to 
taste  but  very  unwholesome,  as  it  is 
an  acid  oxalate,  which,  veterinarians 
say,  is  poisonous  to  horses  and 
sheep.  Flowers  dioecious,  in  erect, 
interrupted,  panicled  racemes,  the 
staminate  ones  conspicuously  yellow 
because  of  the  out-thrust,  pollen- 
loaded  anthers,  the  fertile  ones  with 
reddish  calyx-lobes  and  feathery, 
crimson  stigmas.  Achene  three- 
angled,  brown,  exceeding  the  calyx- 
lobes.  Sorrel  seed  is  a  frequent 
impurity  of  commercial  seeds,  par- 
ticularly of  alsike  clover,  from  which 
it  is  especially  difficult  to  separate.  (Fig.  56.) 

Means  of  control 

Cultivate  and  enrich  the  ground,  correcting  its  acid  condition 
with  heavy  applications  of  lime.  Grain  crops  infested  with  Sorrel 
are  so  robbed  of  moisture  as  to  yield  very  poor  returns ;  they  may 
be  helped  by  a  spray  of  Iron  sulfate  applied  just  as  the  weed  comes 
into  bloom ;  the  rootstocks  take  no  harm,  but  much  of  the  leaf  sur- 
face is  destroyed  and  seed  development  prevented  for  that  season. 
Give  surface  cultivation,  after  harvest,  exposing  the  fibrous  root- 
stocks  and  destroying  the  leaf-growth,  and  also  stirring  dormant 
seeds  into  life.  Reseed  heavily,  smothering  the  weed  with  strong 
grasses  or  clover. 


FIG.    56.  — 


POLYGONACEAE  (BUCKWHEAT  FAMILY) 


97 


PROSTRATE   KNOTWEED 
Polygonum  aviculdre,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Doorweed,  Knotgrass,  Matgrass. 

Native.     Annual  or  perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds.  • 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  October. 

Seed-time:   July  to  November. 

Range:  Nearly  everywhere  in  North  America,  Europe,  and  Asia. 

Habitat:   Cultivated  grounds,  yards,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

A  social,  almost  domesticated,  weed,  seeming  to  thrive 
best  where  most  trampled  and  abused,  growing  in  thick  mats 
along  hard-beaten  farmyard  paths,  and  in- 
truding persistently  in  lawns  and  garden  bor- 
ders ;  it  often  fringes  the  stone  flags  of  city 
sidewalks. 

Stems  slender,  pale  green,  faintly  ridged, 
usually  prostrate,  four  inches  to  nearly  two  feet 
in  length,  branching  in  all  directions  from 
the  white,  woody,  rather  deeply  boring  root. 
Smaller  branches  come  out  at  many  of  the 
numberless  "knots,"  or  joints,  which  are  pale 
under  the  sheathing  stipules.  Leaves  bluish 
green,  nearly  elliptical  in  shape,  sessile  or  with 
very  short  petioles,  a  quarter-inch  to  an  inch 
long.  Flowers  very  small,  the  calyx  five-parted, 
greenish  white  with  pink  margins,  sitting 
solitary  or  in  groups  of  two  or  three  in  the 
leaf  axils ;  stamens  usually  eight,  sometimes 
fewer ;  style  three-parted.  Achenes  dull  brown, 
with  acute  apex  and  rounded  base,  three-angled, 
and  minutely  ridged.  This  species  and  also  the 
one  following  is  often  attacked  by  a  white  mil- 
dew. (Fig.  57.) 


FIG. 


57.  —  Pros- 
trate Knotweed 
(Polygonum  avicu- 
lare).  X  J. 


Means  of  control 

Hoe-cutting  or  hand-pulling  before  the  first  seeds  ripen.  Dor- 
mant seeds  will  supply  later  crops  to  be  treated  in  the  same  way 
until  the  ground  is  clean. 


98 


POLYGONACEAE  (BUCKWHEAT  FAMILY) 


ERECT  KNOTWEED 
Polygonum  erectum,  L. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:  July  to  September. 
Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:    Ontario  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  southward  to  Ten- 
nessee and  Arkansas. 
Habitat:   Yards,  waysides,  and  waste  places. 

A  plant  resembling  the  Doorweed  and  often  growing  in  company 
with  it,  but  having  larger  leaves  and  flowers  and  standing  erect  at 
a  height  of  four  inches  to  a  foot  or  more.  Stem 
slim,  round,  smooth,  yellowish  green,  with 
many  branches.  Leaves  broader  than  those 
of  the  Doorweed,  one-half  inch  to  an  inch 
long,  elliptical,  usually  obtuse,  sessile  or  with 
very  short  petioles ;  stipules  funnel-shaped, 
paper- white,  often  torn  and  ragged.  Flowers 
greenish  white,  in  small  axillary  clusters,  on 
pedicels  usually  about  as  long  as  the  sheathing 
stipules ;  stamens  five  or  six.  Achenes  dull 
brown,  pointed  ovoid,  enclosed  in  the  per- 
sistent calyx-lobes.  (Fig.  58.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevention  of  seeding  by  close  cutting  or 
erectum).    x  i  pulling  while  in  early  bloom. 


BUSHY  KNOTWEED 

Polygonum  ramosissimum,  Michx. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range :  Maine  to  New  Jersey  on  the  Atlantic  Coast ;   in  the  West 

from  Minnesota  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  California,  Arizona, 

and  New  Mexico. 
Habitat :   Sandy,  often  brackish,  soil ;   irrigated  lands,  waste  places. 


POLYGONACEAE  (BUCKWHEAT  FAMILY)  99 

Stem  rigidly  upright,  sometimes  attaining  four  feet  but  more  often 
six  inches  to  two  feet  in  height,  much  branched,  slender,  slightly 
ridged,  and  smooth.  Leaves  yellowish  green,  smooth,  narrow 
lance-shaped,  pointed  at  both  ends,  a  quarter-inch  to  an  inch  long, 
with  very  short  petioles  conspicuously  jointed  to  the  collar-like 
stipules,  which  are  funnel-form,  thin,  usually  cut  and  torn.  Flowers 
in  axillary  clusters,  greenish  with  yellow  margins ;  stamens  three 
to  six;  sepals  six,  the  three  inner  ones  small,  the  outer  ones 
larger,  keeled  and  curving  inward  at  the  summit,  persistent,  their 
withered  remains  enfolding  the  smooth,  shining,  three-angled 
achenes  when  they  mature  and  fall. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  reproduction  by  cutting  or  pulling  when  in  first  bloom. 


SWAMP   SMARTWEED 

PolQgonum  Muhlengergii,  Wats. 
(Polfygonum  emersum,  Britton) 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:     Ontario    to    British    Columbia,    southward    to    Virginia, 

Louisiana,  and  Texas. 
Habitat :   Muddy  or  dry  soil ;   fields,  low  meadows,  swamps. 

Although  this  weed  seems  to  prefer  moist  soil,  it  will  grow  any- 
where, even  on  mountains,  varying  its  form  to  fit  its  surroundings. 
When  established  in  field  or  meadow  its  creeping,  horizontal  root- 
stocks  make  it  difficult  to  suppress,  as  by  ordinary  cultivation  they 
are  likely  to  be  broken  and  further  distributed. 

Stems  one  to  three  feet  long,  decumbent  or  sometimes  erect, 
usually  simple,  rough  with  short,  appressed  hairs,  or  sometimes 
smooth  and  slightly  grooved,  swollen  at  the  joints.  Leaves  vari- 
able, those  in  wet  places  usually  smooth,  rather  broad,  and  heart- 
shaped  at  base ;  in  dry  situations  narrow,  lance-shaped,  pointed  at 
base,  and  covered  on  both  sides  with  appressed  hairs ;  loose  sheath- 
ing stipules  nearly  as  long  as  the  petioles.  Flowers  dark  rose- 


100  POLTGONACEAE  (BUCKWHEAT  FAMILY) 

color,  their  peduncles  rough-hairy  and  often  glandular,  growing  in 
dense  spikes,  one  to  four  inches  long ;  calyx  five-lobed ;  stamens 
five,  exserted;  style  two-cleft  to  about  half  its  length,  exserted. 
Achenes  lens-shaped,  black,  and  shining. 

Means  of  control 

Cutting  and  many  times  cutting,  close  to  the  ground,  for  the 
purpose  of  depriving  the  rootstocks  of  all  food  assimilated  by  the 
leaves  and  preventing  seed  production.  Small  areas  should  be 
grubbed  out. 

PENNSYLVANIA   SMARTWEED 
Polygonum  pennsylvdnicum,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Glandular  Persicary,  Purplehead. 
Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  July  to  October. 

Seed-time:  August  to  November. 
Range:      Eastern     Canada     and 
United    States    to     Minnesota, 
southward  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
Habitat :  Moist  soil ;    damp  grass 
lands,  waste  places,  and  along 
streams  and  ditches. 

A  pest  of  lowland  clover  fields, 
as  it  ripens  its  earlier  seeds  about 
the  time  of  clover  cutting.  Stems 
two  to  five  feet  tall,  somewhat 
hard  and  woody  when  old,  and  of 
rather  branching  and  sprawling 
habit,  the  lower  part  smooth  but 
the  topmost  leaves  and  the  flower- 
stalks  set  with  gland-tipped  hairs. 
Leaves  two  to  ten  inches  long, 
lance-shaped,  with  short  petioles; 
sheathing  stipules  smooth  and  thin. 
Flowers  in  short,  crowded,  erect 
spikes,  cylindric,  often  blunt  at 

FIG.  59. -Pennsylvania  Persicary  the  end>  deeP  Pink;  thev  are  fre~ 
(Polygonum  pennsylvanicum) .  x  J.  quently  affected  with  a  smut  or 


POLTGONACEAE  (BUCKWHEAT  FAMILY)  101 

fungus  which  turns  the  heads  into  a  mass  of  purple  spores,  de- 
stroying the  fruits  so  that  "purplehead"  is  a  benefit  from  the 
farmer's  point  of  view.  Achenes  black,  lens-shaped,  smooth,  and 
shining.  (Fig.  59.) 

Means  of  control 

Cut  closely  or  pull  before  any  seeds  have  matured.  Rankly 
infested  ground  should  be  put  under  cultivation  before  being  again 
used  for  clover  or  grass.  Good  drainage  is  an  assistance  in  subdu- 
ing this  weed,  for  it  likes  the  soil  to  be  moist. 

COMMON   SMARTWEED 
Polygonum  Hydropiper,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Water-pepper, 
Biting  Knotweed. 

Native.    Annual.    Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   July  to  November. 

Range:  Throughout  North  America. 
Naturalized  in  the  Eastern  States,  but 
indigenous  in  the  Northwest. 

Habitat :  Low  fields  and  meadows ;  gar- 
dens and  barnyards,  waste  places. 

The  juice  of  this  plant  is  exceedingly 
biting  and  pungent  to  the  taste  and 
will  raise  blisters  when  applied  to  the 
skin.  It  is  not  insistently  a  water- 
weed,  as  its  name  implies,  but  will  grow 
where  the  soil  is  only  moderately  moist. 

Stem  smooth,  erect,  slender,  with  few 
branches,  ten  inches  to  two  feet  tall, 
light  green  or  frequently  of  a  reddish 
color.  Leaves  narrow  lance-shaped,  one 
to  four  inches  long,  with  short  petioles, 
the  surface  dotted  with  glands,  the  edges 

entire  or  slightly  wavy,  ciliate,  the  FlG.  60._CommonSmart. 
sheathing  stipules  cylmdric  and  fringed  weed (Polygonum Hydropiper). 
with  short  bristles.  Flowers  in  slender,  x  i. 


102  POLTGONACEAE  (BUCKWHEAT  FAMILY) 

nodding,  interrupted  racemes  ;  calyx  greenish,  also  gland-dotted,  and 
as  pungent  to  taste  as  the  leaves ;  stamens  four  to  six ;  style  short, 
two-  or  three-parted.  Achenes  minutely  ridged,  lens-shaped  or 
three-angled  approaching  to  ovoid,  dull,  reddish  brown.  (Fig.  60.) 

Means  of  control 

Cultivation  of  the  ground ;  close  cutting  or  hand-pulling  before 
the  earliest  flowers  ripen  seed. 

MILD   WATER-PEPPER 

Polygonum  hydropiperoides,  Michx. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range:    New  Brunswick  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  Florida  and 

Mexico  ;   also  in  California. 
Habitat :   Damp  soil ;   wet  meadows,  swamps,  waste  places. 

Often  found  growing  in  company  with  the  Smartweed,  and  more 
troublesome  as  a  weed  because  perennial.  Stems  slender,  erect 
or  decumbent,  one  to  three  feet  long,  usually  simple  or  with  a  few 
branches  near  the  top,  smooth  or  with  appressed,  bristly  hairs. 
Leaves  narrowly  lance-shaped,  acute,  bristly-hairy  on  the  midribs 
beneath,  ciliate,  not  glandular,  and  not  acrid ;  sheathing  stipules 
narrow  and  bristle-fringed.  Spikes  terminal,  erect,  narrow,  often 
interrupted  below ;  calyx  pink  or  greenish  white,  with  eight  stamens 
and  with  style  deeply  three-parted.  Achenes  three-angled,  smooth, 
and  shining. 

Means  of  control 

Drainage  and  cultivation  where  practicable ;  frequent  and  close 
cutting  for  the  purpose  of  starving  the  perennial  roots  and  prevent- 
ing the  production  of  seed.  Small  areas  may  be  grubbed  out. 

LADY'S  THUMB 
Polygonum  Persicaria,  L. 

Other   English   names:     Spotted    Smartweed,    Spotted    Knotweed, 
Red-shanks,  Heartweed,  Peach-leaved  Persicary. 


POLYGONACEAE  (BUCKWHEAT  FAMILY) 


103 


Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  October. 

Seed-time:   July  to  November.  ^ 

Range:    Throughout  the  American  Continent  except  the  extreme 

North,  and  in  most  parts  of  the  world. 
Habitat:    Soil  either  dry  or  moist.     Invades  nearly  all  crops. 

The  seeds  of  this  weed  form  one  of  the  most  common  impurities 
of  commercial  seeds,  particularly  of  red  clover.  In  a  bulletin 
issued  by  the  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station  of  Nevada,  concerning  "Clover 
Seeds  and  their  Impurities,"  it  is 
stated  that  of  red  clover  samples  sub- 
mitted for  inspection  (obtained  in  all 
parts  of  the  country),  62.9  per  cent  con- 
tained seeds  of  Persicaria.  (Fig.  61.) 

Stems  six  inches  to  two  feet  tall, 
often  red  or  purplish  at  base,  nearly 
smooth,  erect  or  sometimes  spreading. 
Leaves  lance-shaped,  smooth  or  with 
fine  hair  roughening  the  edges,  pointed 
at  both  ends  and  generally  blotched 
near  the  center  with  a  large  brownish 
spot.  It  is  related  that  Joseph  once 
hurt  his  hand  while  working  in  his  car- 
penter's shop.  Mary  wished  to  make 
a  healing  poultice  with  this  plant,  but 

"  She  could  not  find  it  at  her  need 
And  so  she  pinched  it  for  a  weed," 

since    when    its    leaves    have    always 

borne  the  mark  of  the  Lady's  thumb;    _ 

,        ,.  .      ,          L     ,    .     ,  FIG.     61. — Ladys     Thumb 

the  sheathing  stipules  at  their  base  are  (Poiygonum  Persicaria).  x  J. 
fringed  with  short  bristles.  Flower- 
spikes  numerous,  dense,  erect,  a  half-inch  to  two  inches  long; 
calyx  pink  or  purplish  with  four  or  five  obtuse  lobes,  usually 
six  stamens,  and  a  two-  or  three-parted  style.  Achenes  lens- 
shaped  or  sometimes  three-angled,  smooth,  shining,  jet-black. 

In  some  localities  the  plant  is  said  to  harbor  the  corn-root 
aphis,  the  louse  appearing  with  the  first  leaves. 


104  POLYGONACEAE  (BUCKWHEAT  FAMILY) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  development.  Even  so  expensive  a  process  as 
hand-pulling  is  often  worth  the  labor  if  it  hinders  so  pernicious  a 
weed  as  this  from  fouling  the  ground  with  its  long-lived  seeds.  In 
grasslands  and  grain  fields  a  spray  of  four-per-cent  solution  of 
Copper  sulfate  will  greatly  damage  the  foliage  of  the  weed,  checking 
growth  and  usually  blasting  the  budding  flowers.  In  cultivated 
ground  it  is  readily  subdued  by  the  necessary  tillage. 


BLACK   BINDWEED 
Polygonum  Convdlvulus,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Wild  Buckwheat,  Knot  Bindweed. 
Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  September. 
Seed-time:   July  until  cut  off  by  frost. 
Range:    Throughout  North  America  ex- 
cept the  extreme  North. 
Habitat :  Fields  and  waste  places  ;  invades 
most  crops. 


Not  very  troublesome  in  ground  re- 
quiring close  tillage,  but  a  special  nuisance 
ingrain  fields ;  climbing  over  and  strangling 
the  rightful  growth,  robbing  it  of  food 
and  moisture,  bending  it  down  by  weight 
of  its  own  fruitage.  The  seeds  have  long 
vitality  and  begin  to  ripen  and  drop  into 
the  soil  before  harvest ;  are  gathered  with 
the  grain  and  often  distributed  with  it ; 
often  fed  to  cattle  in  screenings  from  the 
mills,  and  returned  to  the  soil  in  stable 
refuse  or  in  droppings. 

Stem  slightly  angular,  roughish,  branch- 
ing, one  to  three  feet  long.  Leaves 
halberd-shaped  or  long-pointed,  heart- 
shaped,  smooth,  dark  green,  with  slender 
petioles  usually  not  so  long  as  the  blades. 
Flowers  in  slim,  interrupted,  axillary  ra- 


volvulus).     X  \. 


POLYGON  ACE  AE  (BUCKWHEAT  FAMILY)  105 

cemes,  or  often  in  small  clusters  of  two  to  six  on  the  small 
branches  ;  they  are  greenish  white,  the  calyx  five-parted,  persistent, 
enfolding  the  achene,  which  is  black,  pointed,  three-angled, 
resembling  a  small  kernel  of  buckwheat.  (Fig.  62.) 

Means  of  control 

Sow  clean  seed.  Before  they  begin  to  twine,  rake  the  Bindweed 
seedlings  from  the  young  grain  with  a  weeding  harrow.  Directly 
after  harvest  induce  germination  of  seeds  on  the  ground  by  giving 
surface  cultivation,  the  resulting  growth  being  winter-killed  or 
turned  under  by  the  plow.  Put  the  ground  to  a  cultivated  crop 
before  using  it  again  for  grain. 

CLIMBING   FALSE  BUCKWHEAT 

Polygonum  scdndens,  L. 
(Tiniaria  scdndens,  Small.) 

Other  English  names :   Hedge  Bindweed,  Hedge  Buckwheat. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:  June  to  September. 
Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range:  Throughout  the  United  States  and  southern  British  America. 
Habitat :    Moist  soil ;    twining  over  fences  and  thickets  or  trailing 
on  the  ground. 

A  very  conspicuous  weed,  especially  when  in  fruit,  capable  of 
spreading  itself  over  a  square  rod  or  so  of  ground,  when  not  finding 
other  support.  Stems  very  slender,  pale  green,  faintly  ridged  and 
slightly  roughened  on  the  ridges,  three  to  twenty  feet  in  length ; 
several  such  stems  strike  off  in  all  directions  from  the  deep-boring, 
branching,  perennial  root.  Leaves  halberd-shaped,  the  tips  and 
the  basal  auricles  rather  long-pointed,  smooth  but  with  edges 
slightly  roughened ;  petioles  long  and  nearly  as  thick  as  the  stem 
from  which  they  spring ;  sheath  smooth,  oblique,  slightly  rough  on 
the  ridges.  Flowers  yellowish  green,  in  slender,  axillary  racemes, 
interrupted  and  leafy,  two  to  four  inches  long ;  calyx  five-parted, 
the  three  outer  segments  winged  and  decurrent  on  the  pedicels. 
Achenes  small,  three-angled,  obtuse  at  both  ends,  jet  black,  smooth 
and  shining.  They  are  persistent  on  the  stems  until  cold  weather 


106 


CHENOPODIACEAE  (GOOSEFOOT  FAMILY) 


and  birds  glean  them,  which  accounts  for  the  presence  of  the  weed 
along  fences  and  thickets.      (Fig.  63.) 

Means  of  control 

The  best  remedy  is  hand-pulling  when  the  ground  is  soft,  early 
in  the  first  season's  growth,  before  the  root  has  extensively  grown. 
Otherwise  cut  the  vines  from  the  roots  while  in  early  flower,  using 
salt  or  kerosene  on  the  shorn  surfaces.  Vines  like  this  are  an 
argument  against  any  more  fences  than  are  absolutely  necessary. 


WINGED   PIGWEED 

Cycloloma  atriplicifblium,  Coult. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 


FIG.  63.  — Climbing  False 
Buckwheat  (Polygonum  scan- 
dens).  X  j. 


FIG.  64.  — Winged  Pigweed  (Cy- 
cloloma atriplicifolium) .     X  $. 


CHENOPODIACEAE  (GOOSEFOOT  FAMILY)  107 

Seed-time:   Late  August  to  November. 

Range :  Manitoba  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  through  the  Middle 

West  to  Arizona. 
Habitat :   Plains ;   sandy  soil ;   fields,  waste  places. 

A  low  and  broadly  branching  plant,  six  to  twenty  inches  in 
height,  the  stem  and  branches  somewhat  striped  and  angular,  with 
reddish  joints,  often  webby-haired  when  young  but  soon  becoming 
smooth.  Leaves  one  to  three  inches  long,  lance-shaped,  with  wavy 
and  irregular  but  sharp  teeth,  narrowing  at  base  to  short,  slim 
petioles ;  when  young  they  are  pale  green,  but  they  usually  turn 
dark  purple  as  the  plant  matures.  Flowers  in  loosely  spreading, 
interrupted  panicles,  very  small,  sessile,  and  scattered  unevenly  on 
the  spikes ;  calyx  urn-shaped,  with  five  pointed  lobes,  keeled  and 
curved  inward,  around  the  base  of  which  develops  a  thin,  mem- 
branous, horizontal  wing,  or  border;  stamens  five;  styles  three 
or  occasionally  two.  Seed  flattened  and  horizontal,  crusta- 
ceous.  (Fig.  64.) 

As  the  plants  mature  the  empurpled  leaves  fall  away,  the  spread- 
ing branches  harden  and  bend  their  tips  inward,  the  brittle  stems 
part  from  the  roots  close  to  the  ground,  and  after  that  the  plants 
are  tumbleweeds,  at  the  sport  of  varying  winds,  seeding  the  soil 
over  which  they  roll. 

Means  of  control 

Destroy  while  young  by  hoe-cutting  or  hand-pulling.  Maturing 
plants  should  be  cut  and  burned.  Stragglers  of  roadsides  and  waste 
land  should  receive  attention,  for  a  few  tumblers  from  such  sources 
may  seed  a  wide  area. 

FIREBALL 

Kdchia  Scopdria,  Schrad. 

Other  English  name:   Mexican  Fireweed. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range:  Locally  in  most  of  the  states ;  most  common  in  the  Middle 

West. 
Habitat :   Fields,  waste  places. 


108 


CHENOPODIACEAE  (GOOSEFOOT  FAMILY) 


Wherever  this  plant  is  established  as  a 
weed  it  has  usually  first  been  cultivated  in 
gardens  for  its  bright  coloring  in  autumn. 
It  is  becoming  increasingly  common,  par- 
ticularly on  the  prairies,  where  the  winds 
carry  it  far  on  the  unrestricted  levels,  for 
its  rounded,  compact  growth  makes  it  a 
tumbleweed.  Its  name  of  "Mexican  fire- 
weed"  is  a  misnomer,  for  it  is  an  immigrant 
from  Europe. 

Stem  one  to  three  feet  in  height,  very 
slender,  round,  pale  green,  erect  and  dif- 
fusely branching.  Leaves  very  numerous, 
one  to  three  inches  long,  pale  green,  pointed, 
linear,  the  upper  ones  almost  thread-like 
in  their  narrowness.  Flowers  sessile  in  the 
upper  axils,  forming  short,  dense,  bracted 
spikes;  calyx  five-lobed,  each  segment 
bearing  a  small,  triangular  wing ;  seed 
coat  membranaceous.  In  autumn  the 
dense  foliage  turns  fiery  red,  but  later 
the  plants  become  brown  and  unsightly. 
(Fig.  65.) 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the 
Winged  Pigweed. 


MEXICAN   TEA 
Chenopbdium  ambrosioldes,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Spanish  Tea,  Jerusalem  Tea,  Jesuit  Tea, 

Ambrosia. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   July  to  September. 
Seed-time:  August  to  October. 
Range :   Tropical  America,  northward  to  Ontario  and  westward  to 

Pacific  Coast. 
Habitat :  Old  pastures,  neglected  yards,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

Most  common  in  the  South. 

A   strong-scented,    unpleasant   weed,    rejected   by   all    grazing 
animals,  even  goats.  ,  Stem  two  to  four  feet  tall,  erect,  much 


OHXNOPODIACEAS  (GOOSEFOOT  FAMILY) 


109 


branched,   and  very   leafy.     Leaves 

oblong  to  lance-shaped,  one  to  three 

inches  long,  smooth,  wavy-toothed  or 

nearly  entire,    especially   the  upper 

ones,  which  are  pointed  at  both  ends 

and  sessile  or  with  very  short  petioles. 

Flowers  in  dense  terminal  and  axil- 
lary spikes,   intermixed  with   small 

leaves ;    calyx   green,  its  five  lobes 

completely     enclosing     the     small, 

black,  flattened  seed.      (Fig.  66.) 

Occupying 
the  same  range 
is  a  closely  re- 
lated plant, 
commonly 
called  Worm- 
seed  (C.  am- 
brosioides,  var. 
anthelminticum, 
Gray),  differ- 
ing chiefly  in  FlG-  66.  — Mexican  Tea  (Cheno- 
i  .  .  |  podium  ambrosioides) .  X  J. 

being  perennial 

in  latitudes  where  the  ground  does  not 
freeze  in  winter ;  also,  it  is  a  larger,  more 
strongly-scented  plant,  with  more  coarsely 
toothed  leaves,  two  to  five  inches  long  and 
its  flowering  spikes  often  lacking  the  small, 
entire,  sessile  leaves  that  are  intermingled 
with  the  flowers  of  Mexican  Tea.  Both 
plants  are  used  in  medicine  as  anthelmintics, 
and  the  seeds,  from  which  the  essential  oil  is 
usually  distilled,  are  salable  in  the  drug  market 
for  six  to  eight  cents  a  pound.  (Fig.  67.) 

FIG.  67.  —  Wormseed    Means  of  control 
(Chenopodium    ambro-  .         .        ...  .  .. 

sioides  var.  anthelminti-       Close   cutting   or   hand-pulling   while   in 
cum),    x  j.  early  bloom. 


110  CHENOPODIACEAE  (GOOSEFOOT  FAMILY) 

JERUSALEM   OAK 
Chenopddium  Botrys,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Feather  Geranium,  Turnpike  Geranium. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:  August  to  October. 

Range :  Nova  Scotia  to  Oregon,  southward  to  Georgia  and  Mexico. 

Habitat:   Roadsides  and  waste  places. 

Its  name  of  Turnpike  Geranium  indicates  the  fondness  of  this 
weed  for  the  public  road,  where  it  is  usually  an  unsightly  object, 
with  its  glandular,  hairy  leaves  and  flowers  overlaid  with  dust.  It 
is  strong-scented,  with  an  odor  somewhat  like  turpentine,  and 
grazing  animals,  even  sheep,  usually  leave  it  alone. 

Stem  eight  inches  to  two  feet  tall,  slender,  erect,  simple  or  with 
very  few  branches,  green,  glandular-hairy,  and  viscid.  Leaves  ob- 
long, pinnately  lobed,  obtuse  at  apex,  the  lobes  also  obtuse  with 
cr.enate  teeth ;  petioles  slender,  short,  the  upper  leaves  becoming 
sessile.  Flowers  in  spreading,  cyme-like  racemes,  small,  green, 
viscid,  very  numerous ;  calyx-lobes  pointed,  hairy,  not  quite  cover- 
ing the  small,  flattened  seed. 

Means  of  control  should  be  the  same  as  for  the  Wormseeds. 

STRAWBERRY  ELITE 

Chenopddium  capit&tum,  Asch. 

Other  English  names:  Elite  Mulberry,  Strawberry  Spinach. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 

Seed-time:  July  to  September. 

Range:   Nova  Scotia  to  Alaska,  southward  to  New  Jersey,  Illinois, 

and  Minnesota,  and  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  Colorado,  Utah, 

and  Nevada.     Also  a  native  of  Europe. 
Habitat :   Dry  soil ;   cultivated  grounds ;   waste  places. 

Stem  six  inches  to  two  feet  high,  slender,  pale  green,  often  striped 
with  purple,  with  numerous  ascending  branches.  Leaves  trian- 
gular or  halberd-shaped,  one  to  three  inches  long,  thin,  pale  green, 
irregularly  and  coarsely  toothed,  not  mealy ;  petioles  slender,  the 
lower  ones  about  as  long  as  the  blades.  Flowers  in  rounded, 


CHENOPODIACEAE  (GOOSEFOOT  FAMILY) 


111 


densely  crowded,  sessile  clusters  along 
the  upper  part  of  the  stem  and  branches 
and  in  the  lower  axils ;  calyx  three-  to 
five-parted,  becoming  pulpy  and  deep 
red  when  ripe,  making  the  clusters  look 
like  strawberries.  Seed  ovoid,  slightly 
flattened,  smooth,  dull  black.  (Fig. 


Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production  either  by 
hand-pulling  or  by  close  cutting  while 
in  bloom. 

OAK-LEAVED   GOOSEFOOT 

Chenopddium  glaiicum,  L. 
Introduced.     Annual.    Propagates  by 


Time  of  bloom :  June  to  September. 
Seed-time:   August  to  November. 
Range:    Throughout   North  America 

except  the  far  North. 
Habitat :     Cultivated  ground ;     waste 

places. 


Like  the  White  Goosefoot,  this  plant  has  accompanied  the 
European  settler  to  every  part  of  the  world.  Stem  eight  to  twenty 
inches  high,  rather  stout,  grooved,  succulent,  with  numerous 
spreading  branches,  the  lowermost  often  prostrate  on  the  ground, 
glaucous,  often  mealy.  Leaves  oblong  to  lance-shaped,  wavy- 
toothed  or  partly  pinnatifid,  the  lower  ones  obtuse  at  apex  and 
tapering  to  a  slender  petiole,  the  upper  ones  acute,  often  entire, 
sessile  or  nearly  so,  pale  green  above  and  white-mealy  beneath. 
Flowers  in  small  axillary  clusters,  usually  not  so  long  as  the  leaves, 
crowded  on  short,  spreading  spikes.  Seed  dark  brown,  flattened, 
sharp-edged,  the  utricle  having  its  summit  not  completely  cov- 
ered by  the  calyx. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  Smooth  Pigweed. 


112  CHENOPODIACEAE  (GOOSEFOOT  FAMILY) 

MAPLE-LEAVED   GOOSEFOOT 

Chenopodium  hybridum,  L. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 

Seed-time :  August  to  November. 

Range:   Quebec  to  the  Northwest  Territory  and  British  Columbia, 

southward  to  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Kansas,  Utah,  and 

New  Mexico.     Also  a  native  of  Europe. 
Habitat:    Open  woods  and  thickets,  farmyards,  roadsides,  waste 

places ;   a  frequent  tenant  of  city  vacant  lots. 

A  tall  and  handsome  species,  differing  from  others  of  its  kind  in 
that  it  is  fond  of  shade.  It  is  strong-scented,  the  odor  somewhat 
like  that  of  Stramonium. 

Stem  two  to  five  feet  or  more  in  height,  erect,  rather  slender, 
grooved,  smooth,  green,  with  many  spreading  branches.  Leaves 
large,  smooth,  thin,  deep  green,  not  mealy,  the  lower  ones  some- 
times four  inches  long,  ovate,  long-pointed,  with  one  to  four  large, 
pointed  teeth  on  each  side,  the  base  truncate  or  rounded,  petioles 
rather  long  and  slender ;  the  upper  leaves  lance-shaped,  usually 
entire.  Flowers  in  large,  loosely  spreading,  terminal  and  axillary 
panicles  ;  calyx  green,  its  five  lobes  keeled,  rather  obtuse,  not  wholly 
covering  the  seed,  which  is  sharp-edged. 

Means  of  control 

Close  cutting  or  pulling  before  the  first  flowers  mature. 

SMOOTH  PIGWEED 
Chenopodium  album,  L. 

Other  English  names:  White  Goosefoot,  Lamb's  Quarters,  Fat  Hen, 

Mealweed,  Meldweed. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:  June  to  September. 
Seed-time:   August  to  November. 
Range:   Throughout  the  world. 
Habitat:   Cultivated  fields,  gardens,  waste  places. 

A  succulent,  swift-growing  weed,  which  rapidly  absorbs  the  food 
and  moisture  needed  by  the  crops  among  which  it  intrudes.  Pigs 
and  sheep  are  very  fond  of  it,  and  when  young  it  makes  quite  as 


CHENOPODIACEAE  (GOOSEFOOT  FAMILY) 


113 


good  "  greens  "  as  its  cultivated  relatives,  the  spinach  and  the  beet ; 
also,  it  is  a  frequent  host  of  the  insect  enemies,  mildews,  and  rusts 
that  injure  those  plants.  (Fig.  69.) 

The  stem  sometimes  attains  to  six  feet,  but  is  usually  two  to  four 
feet  tall,  stout,  erect,  ridged  and  grooved,  much  branched,  often 
striped  with  pink  or  purple,  growing  from 
a  short,  stout  main  root  with  many 
branching  rootlets.  Leaves  rhombic- 
ovate  or  goosefoot-shaped  near  the  base, 
but  become  more  narrow  and  lance- 
shaped  as  they  ascend  the  stem  until 
those  near  the  top  are  often  nearly 
linear;  smooth  and  green  above  but 
often  covered  on  the  under  side  with  a 
mealy  secretion,  especially  when  young, 
the  lower  ones  irregularly  cut  and 
toothed,  with  petioles  often  as  long  as  the 
blades.  Flowers  small,  green,  crowded 
on  spiked  panicles  in  the  axils  and  at 
the  summit  of  stem  and  branches ;  calyx 
with  five  lobes,  keeled  and  enfolding  the 
seed,  which  is  lens-shaped,  small  and 
black;  these  seeds  have  very  long  vi- 
tality, lying  dormant  in  the  soil  for 
years  and  germinating  when  brought 
near  the  surface  by  cultivation.  Pig- 
weed seeds  are  nearly  always  found  in 
dirty  grain,  and  often  in  clover  and 
grass  seed  and  in  alfalfa ;  though,  being  FIG.  69.  —  Smooth  Pigweed 
lighter,  they  should  be  easily  removed.  (Chenopodium  album),  x  i. 

Means  of  control 

In  hoed  crops  the  weed  is  very  persistent  and  cultivation  should 
be  continued  until  late  in  the  season,  else  the  soil  will  be  strewn  with 
late  matured  seeds.  In  gardens  and  other  small  areas,  it  should  be 
hoe-cut  or  hand-pulled  while  young.  When  the  plant  appears  in 
grain  fields,  it  should  be  harrowed  out  with  one  of  the  small-toothed 
harrows  known  as  weeders,  in  the  spring,  when  the  grain  is  but 


114  CHENOPODIACEAE  (GOOSEFOOT  FAMILY) 

a  few  inches  high.  Stubbles  should  be  given  surface  cultivation 
after  harvest  for  the  purpose  of  stirring  into  life  such  seeds  as  lie  on 
the  ground,  the  young  growth  to  be  turned  under  at  the  fall  plow- 
ing, or,  it  may  be  grazed  off  by  sheep. 

NETTLE-LEAVED   GOOSEFOOT 
Chenopodium  murale,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Sowbane,  Swine's  Bane. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   June  to  September. 

Seed-time:    August  to  November. 

Range:    Maine  to  British  Columbia,   southward  to   Florida  and 

Mexico. 
Habitat :   Cultivated  grounds ;   waste  places. 

Stem  ten  to  twenty  inches  high,  leafy  to  the  top,  slender,  often 
decumbent,  sometimes  erect,  usually  loosely  branched.  Leaves 
rhombic-ovate,  thin,  green  on  both  sides,  with  large,  coarse,  wavy 
but  sharply  pointed  teeth,  bases  broadly  wedge-shaped,  truncate, 
or  slightly  rounded,  with  petioles  shorter  than  the  blades.  Panicles 
in  small,  branching,  divergent,  somewhat  corymbose  clusters, 
axillary,  and  shorter  than  the  leaves ;  calyx-lobes  not  wholly 
enclosing  the  seed,  which  is  sharp-edged  and  very  flat. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Smooth  Pigweed. 

SPREADING   ORACHE 
Atriplex  pdtula,  L. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   Late  July  to  October. 

Seed-time:    September  to  November. 

Range :    Nova  Scotia  and  Ontario  to  New  Jersey  and  Ohio ;    also 

in  northwestern  United  States  and  British  Columbia,  where  it  is 

probably  native. 
Habitat :   Sandy  soil ;   cultivated  ground,  waste  places. 

A  relative  of  the  Smooth  Pigweed  and  ranking  with  it  in  weedy 
character.  Stem  one  to  three  feet  in  length,  prostrate  or  ascending 
or  sometimes  erect,  diffusely  branching,  grooved,  often  with  reddish 
stripes.  Leaves  lance-shaped,  one  to  five  inches  in  length,  long- 


CHENOPODIACEAE  (GOOSEFOOT  FAMILY) 


115 


pointed,  entire  or  sparingly  wavy-toothed,  the  lower  ones  with 
a  pointed  lobe  on  each  side  near  the  base  and  with  slender  petioles ; 
the  upper  ones  becoming  nearly  linear  and  sessile.  Leaves  and 
stem  often  scurfy-mealy,  especially  near  the  top.  Flowers  in 


FIG.  70.  —  Spreading  Orache 
(Atriplex  patula).     X  J. 


FIG.  71.  — Halberd- 
leaved  Orache  (Atri- 
plex patula,  var. 
hastata).  X  J. 


terminal,  interrupted,  panicled  spikes,  and  also  in  small  clusters 
in  the  upper  axils,  the  staminate  and  pistillate  flowers  separate  or 
both  kinds  together ;  the  staminate  flower  without  bracts,  the  calyx 
three-  to  five-parted  with  as  many  stamens  ;  fertile  flower  a  naked 
pistil  with  two-parted  style,  placed  between  two  fleshy,  triangular 


116  CHENOPODIACEAE  (GOOSEFOOT  FAMILY) 

bracts,  which  are  united  at  base  and  often  tubercled  on  their  sides. 
Seed  compressed,  vertical ;  often  an  impurity  of  other  seeds. 
(Fig.  70.) 

The  plant  is  very  variable ;  one  of  its  forms,  the  Halberd-leaved 
Orache  (A.  patula,  var.  hastata,  Gray),  is  more  common  than  the 
type,  ranging  from  the  Great  Lakes  across  the  continent  and  south- 
.ward  to  Nebraska  and  Utah.  It  is  stouter,  more  erect,  the  leaves 
broadly  halberd-shaped  and  often  coarsely  and  irregularly  toothed, 
particularly  the  lower  ones,  the  petioles  often  as  long  as  the  blades. 
(Fig.  71.)  These  weeds  are  subject  to  the  mildew  so  injurious  to 
garden  spinach  and  beets,  and  will  infect  those  vegetables  if  grow- 
ing near  them.  Like  the  Goosefoots,  their  seeds  retain  vitality  for 
a  number  of  years  when  in  the  soil. 

Means  of  control 

Hand-pulling  while  in  early  bloom  is  the  best  remedy ;  cutting 
causes  the  stems  to  stool  freely,  and  the  new  growth  hastens  to 
mature  fruit,  requiring  attention  a  second  time ;  so  that  prompt  up- 
rooting saves  trouble  in  the  end.  In  cultivated  crops  these  plants 
give  little  trouble,  for  there  they  are  usually  destroyed  as  seedlings. 

BUGSEED 

Corispermum  hyssopifolium,  L. 
(Corispermum  nitidum,  Kit.) 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range:   Shores  of  the  Great  Lakes  to  the  Northwest  Territory  and 

British  Columbia,  southward  to  Missouri,  Texas,  and  Arizona. 
Habitat :   Dry,  sandy  soil ;   grain  fields,  hoed  crops,  and  grasslands. 

This  is  another  of  the  plants  that  often  become  tumbleweeds  when 
mature,  which  explains  why  its  range  extends  from  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  to  the  Arctic  Circle.  It  is  well  known  also  in  Europe  and 
Asia. 

Stems  pale  green,  succulent  and  finely  hairy  when  young,  but 
becoming  smooth,  hard,  and  faintly  ridged  with  age,  often  strongly 
zigzagged,  very  freely  branched,  six  inches  to  two  feet  in  length, 


CHENOPODIACEAE  (GOOSEFOOT  FAMILY)  117 

the  longer  branches  spreading  and  usually  decumbent  but  the 
shorter  ones  erect.  Lower  leaves  alternate,  narrowly  linear  but 
rather  thick,  with  the  base  somewhat  dilated,  one-nerved,  sessile, 
spreading,  a  half-inch  to  two  inches  long,  tipped  with  a  hard,  rigid 
point  (cuspidate) ;  the  upper,  floral  leaves,  or  bracts,  are  very 
different,  being  thinner,  ovate,  pointed,  little  more  than  a  quarter- 
inch  long,  with  dry,  scarious  margins.  In  the  axils  of  these  reduced 
leaves  are  the  solitary  flowers,  hardly  an  eighth  of  an  inch  long ; 
the  calyx  consists  of  one  delicate  sepal,  rarely  a  second  one;  sta- 
mens one  to  three ;  styles  two.  Seed  oval,  somewhat  flattened, 
with  a  winged  margin,  the  two  persistent  styles  extended  like 
antennae,  completing  its  likeness  to  a  small  bug. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seeding  by  thorough  and  very  late  tillage  of  cultivated 
crops.  Infested  meadows  should  be  harvested  while  the  weed  is 
young  and  succulent.  Burn  over  infested  ground  where  plants 
have  matured,  in  order  to  destroy  seeds  on  the  surface. 


RUSSIAN  THISTLE 

Sdlsola  Kali,  L. 
Var.  tenufdlia,  G.  F.  W.  Meyer 

Other    Englis      names:     Russian    Cactus,    Russian    Tumbleweed, 

Tumbling  Thistle. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 
Seed-time:    Earliest  flowers  mature  as  early  as  September,  later 

ones  clinging  to  the  plant  until  nearly  springtime. 
Range:    Ontario  and  Manitoba  to  Idaho;    nearly  throughout  the 

Mississippi  Valley ;    in  Kansas,  Nebraska,  and  Colorado  ;  locally 

in  Eastern  States. 
Habitat:    Dry  soil;    invades  most  crops;    waste  places. 

A  most  pernicious  weed,  which  was  brought  to  this  country  in 
impure  flax  seed  from  Russia  not  many  years  ago,  but  its  range  is 
already  large  and  is  steadily  increasing.  Because  of  its  excessive 
prickliness,  the  Dakota  farmers  who  first  made  its  acquaintance 
called  it  Thistle  and  Cactus;  but  it  is  neither,  being  a  Saltwort 
and  a  member  of  the  Qooscfoot  Family. 


118 


CHENOPODIACEAE  (GOOSEFOOT  FAMILY) 


The  seedlings  are  innocent-looking,  grass-like  shoots,  divided 
into  two  blades,  appearing  in  April,  May,  and  June.  The  young 
stalks  are  tender  and  succulent,  the  young  leaves  an  inch  or  two 
long  with  young  branchlets  in  their  axils ;  at  this  stage  of  growth 
the  plant  is  good  forage  which  cattle  and  sheep  eat  greedily.  But 
with  the  approach  of  summer  wreather  the  plants  change  their 

character :  the  stem  becomes  hard 
and  woody,  two  to  three  feet  high, 
ridged,  and  streaked  with  red  lines, 
diffusely  branched  and  spreading 
broadly,  crowding  to  death  all 
lesser  growth.  The  first  leaves 
^  away»  tnose  °f  later  growth 
are  not  more  t^311  a  half-inch 
long,  mere  awl-like  spines  slightly 
broadened  at  base  and  having  on 
each  side  a  sharp  pointed  bract 
which  is  somewhat  shorter.  (Fig. 
72.)  Flowers  axillary,  sessile,  and 
usually  solitary,  very  small,  green- 
ish white  or  often  pink ;  calyx 
five-parted,  with  five  stamens 
and  two  styles ;  when  mature  the 
calyx-lobes  are  horizontally  winged 
on  the  back,  forming  a  papery 
margin  which  often  helps  the  seed 
to  be  carried  before  the  wind,  in- 
dependent of  the  tumbling  of  the 
parent  plant.  Seed  very  small, 
reddish  in  color,  irregular  in 
shape  but  somewhat  like  a  flattened  top,  held  in  place  by  fine 
tufts  of  coiled  hair  at  the  base  of  the  persistent  calyx,  so  that 
only  the  ripest  will  fall  when  the  plant  is  broken  from  its  hold 
on  the  soil  and  sent  tumbling  before  the  wind ;  but  they  continue 
to  ripen  and  shake  loose  all  winter  as  the  weeds  are  trundled  about. 
According  to  the  size  attained,  a  thrifty  plant  may  bear  ten  thou- 
sand to  a  hundred  thousand  seeds,  which  retain  their  vitality  in 
the  soil  for  several  seasons. 


FIG.  72. —Russian  Thistle  (Salsola 
Kali,  var.  tenufolia).     X  i. 


CHENOPODIACEAE  (OOOSEFOOT  FAMILY)  119 

Means  of  control 

Sow  clean  seed.  Prevent  the  production  of  seed.  When  the 
weed  is  cut  close  to  the  ground  before  seeding,  it  dies.  Young 
seedlings,  six  or  eight  inches  high,  may  be  plowed  under,  a  drag- 
chain  being  used  to  help  pull  them  beneath  the  turning  furrow. 
On  such  land,  plowed  as  late  as  July,  a  soiling  crop  of  corn  or  rape 
may  be  grown.  In  such  cultivated  crops  as  potatoes,  corn,  and 
beets,  tillage  should  be  continued  later  than  is  customary.  In 
grain  fields,  particularly  those  harvested  with  a  header,  the  stubbles 
should  be  burned  over,  first  being  mowed  and  dried  for  a  few  days 
if  the  weeds  are  still  green.  Entire  communities  should  be  con- 
cerned in  keeping  highways,  firebreaks,  and  all  waste  land  clean  of 
the  pest. 

RUSSIAN   PIGWEED 

Axyris  amarantoldes,  L. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  June  to  July. 
Seed-time:  July  to  August. 
Range:  Manitoba,  Minnesota,  and  the  Dakotas. 
Habitat:  Grain  fields,  meadows,  railway  embankments,  roadsides, 
and  waste  places. 

A  native  of  Siberia,  first  appearing  in  this  country  in  1886,  in 
Canada  near  Winnipeg,  Manitoba ;  since  when  the  plant  has 
spread  very  rapidly,  east,  west,  and  south.  It  is  a  coarse,  deeply 
rooted,  grossly  feeding  weed,  two  to  four  feet  in  height,  widely 
branched  and  very  leafy,  seriously  crowding  the  crops  among 
which  it  grows.  When  young,  it  somewhat  resembles  Lamb's 
Quarters,  but,  instead  of  being  mealy,  the  branches  and  under 
side  of  the  leaves  are  clothed  with  very  short,  star-shaped 
hairs.  (Fig.  73.) 

Stem  rather  stout,  grooved,  light-colored,  very  hard  and  woody 
when  mature,  and  injurious  to  harvesting  machines.  Leaves 
alternate,  lance-shaped,  with  short  petioles,  sparsely  toothed  or 
wavy-edged,  the  upper  ones  entire.  Flowers  of  two  kinds,  at  first 
green  and  inconspicuous,  the  staminate  ones  in  slender  spikes, 
terminating  the  many  branchlets ;  the  fertile  flowers  below,  thickly 


120  CHENOPODIACEAE  (GOOSEFOOT  FAMILY) 

clustered  in  the  axils ;  these  each  produce  a  single  ovoid,  flattened 
seed,  about  a  tenth  of  an  inch  long,  minutely  ridged  lengthwise, 
gray  and  shining ;  many  seeds  have  the  utricle  or  papery  covering 
persistently  enfolding  them  and  projecting 
from  the  top  as  a  two-lobed  wing.  When 
mature,  the  stems,  bracts,  and  calyx  lobes 
turn  white,  and  the  plants  are  then  very  con- 
spicuous. They  frequently  become  tumble- 
weeds,  the  woody,  brittle  stems  breaking  at 
the  base  and  the  whole  weed  rolling  away 
before  the  wind,  sowing  seed  as  it  goes;  by 
this  means  its  range  is  being  very  rapidly 
extended. 

Means  of  control 

In  grain  fields,  large  numbers  of  the  young 
seedlings  may  be  dragged  out  with  a  weeding 
harrow,  in  the  spring,  when  the  crop  is  but 
a  few  inches  high ;  plants  that  survive  this 
treatment  should  be  hand-pulled  later,  but 
before  their  rank  growth  injures  the  crop  by 
absorbing  its  food  and  moisture.  Meadows 
infested  by  the  weed  should  be  early  cut  in 
FIG.  73.  — Russian  or^er  to  prevent  fouling  the  soil  with  the 

Pigweed  (Axyris  ama-  seed.  Plants  along  roadsides  and  railways 
and  in  waste  places  should  be  cut  while  in 

early  flower,  and   burned  so  as  to  make  certain  that  no  seed 

shall  mature. 

ROUGH   PIGWEED 

Amardnthus  retroflexus,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Redroot  Pigweed,  Chinaman's  Greens. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range:   Throughout  North  America  except  the  far  North.     Native 

of  tropical  America  and  indigenous  in  the  Southwest. 
Habitat :   Cultivated  ground  ;   waste  places. 


AMARANTHACEAE  (AMARANTH  FAMILY)  121 

Like  the  Smooth  Pigweed,  this  plant  is  rarely  absent  from  cul- 
tivated ground.  One  reason  for  its  constant  recurrence  lies  in  the 
long  vitality  of  its  seeds,  which  are  known  to  survive  in  the  soil 
for  more  than  thirty  years ;  they  are  also  a  frequent  impurity  of  all 
commercial  seeds. 

Stem  stout,  tough,  erect,  green,  rough-hairy,  much  branched, 
occasionally  attaining  a  height  of  ten  feet,  but  usually  one  to  six 
feet  tall,  springing  from  a  long, 
fleshy,  red  taproot,  befringed  with 
pink  or  white  rootlets.  Leaves  long 
ovate  or  rhombic-ovate,  three  to  six 
inches  in  length,  dull  green,  rough- 
hairy,  with  long  petioles  and  promi- 
nent ribs  and  veins.  Flowers  on 
large,  dense,  terminal  and  axillary 
panicles,  each  subtended  by  three 
rigid,  prickly  bracts ;  they  are  very 
small,  greenish,  with  five  sepals  and 
five  stamens  ;  stigmas  two  or  three. 
Each  flower  produces  but  one  oval, 
flattened,  jet-black,  and  shining  seed 
which  readily  falls  from  its  place 
when  ripe.  (Fig.  74.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production.  This 
means  that  attention  must  be  given 
to  cultivated  crops  after  the  horse-  FIG  74.  _  Rough  Pigweed 
hoe  has  ceased  its  rounds,  either  (Amaranthus  retroflexus).  x  i. 
hand-pulling  or  hoe-cutting  late 

plants  which  persistently  strive  to  reproduce  themselves.  If  they 
are  nearing  maturity,  remove  the  plants  from  the  ground,  for 
seeds  will  ripen  on  the  stout  stalks.  In  grain  fields,  seedlings 
may  be  dragged  out  with  a  weeding  harrow  in  the  spring,  when 
the  crop  is  but  a  few  inches  tall.  Or  later,  but  before  the  weed 
blooms  or  the  grain  begins  to  head,  spray  with  Iron  or  Copper 
sulfate. 


122  AMARANTHACEAE  (AMARANTH  FAMILY) 


TUMBLEWEED 

Amardnthus  groeclzans,  L. 
(Amardnthus  dlbus,  L.) 

Other  English  names:    White  Pigweed,  Tumbling  Pigweed. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range:    Throughout  North  America  except  the  far  North;    most 

common  in  the  plains  regions  of  the  West. 
Habitat :   Cultivated  ground ;   waste  places. 

A  low,  broadly  spreading  plant,  eight  to  twenty  inches  high,  with 
thick,  succulent,  very  pale  green,  almost  white  stem,  diffusely 
branching  from  the  base,  and  hav- 
ing a  shallow,  pinkish  white  root. 
Leaves  smooth,  pale  green,  a  half- 
inch  to  two  inches  long,  spatulate, 
with  rounded  apex,  the  midvein 
extended  as  a  minute  bristle; 
petioles  slender,  paler  than  the 
blades.  Flowers  in  small  axillary 
clusters,  green,  with  three  membra- 
nous sepals  and  as  many  stamens, 
the  three  subtending  bracts  much 
longer,  awl-like,  sharp,  rigid,  the 
lateral  ones  smaller  or  sometimes 
wanting;  seed  with  wrinkled,  pa- 
pery utricle  longer  than  the  sepals. 
When  the  plants  mature  the  leaves 
fall  away,  the  hardened  stems 
bend  inward,  the  stalk  is  uprooted 
FIG.  75.  —  Tumbleweed  (Ama-  or  breaks  off  at  the  surface  of  the 
ranthus  gratizans).  x  1.  ground,  and  the  weed  rolls  away 

to   scatter   the   seeds   wherever   the   wind    wills.     (Fig.    75.) 

Means  of  control 

Destroy  by  hoe-cutting  while  young ;  tillage  of  cultivated  crops 
should  be  long  continued,  in  order  to  capture  late-ripening  plants. 


AMARANTHACEAE  (AMARANTH  FAMILY) 


123 


Odd  corners  and  waste  grounds  should    be  well  looked  after,  as 
many  of  the  largest  tumblers  come  from  such  places. 


PROSTRATE   PIGWEED 

Amardnthus  blitoldes,  Wats. 

Other  English  names:    Matted  Pigweed,  Low  Amaranth, 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range:    Maine  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  New  Jersey,  Texas, 

and  Arizona. 
Habitat :   Dry  soil ;   cultivated  ground,  waste  places. 

Often  growing  with  the  Tumbling  Pigweed,  and  very  like  it  in 
the  shape  of  its  small,  spatulate  leaves  and  small,  greenish  flowers ; 
but  its  pale  green,  succulent  branches  are  more  slender,  slightly 
ridged,  six  inches  to  nearly  two  feet  in  length  and  lie  flat  on  the 
ground,  spreading  on  all  sides  from 
the  central  root  and  forming  thick 
mats.  Like  the  other,  it  crowds  out 
better  plants  and  absorbs  much  food 
and  moisture  from  the  soil.  The 
bracts  subtending  the  flowers  are 
ovate  to  lance-shaped,  hardly  exceed- 
ing the  sepals ;  stamens  three ;  utricle 
smooth,  the  seed  nearly  twice  as  large 
as  those  of  the  Tumbleweed,  and  for 
that  reason  much  more  difficult  to 
remove  from  other  seeds,  particularly 
clover.  (Fig.  76.)  This  plant  and 
the  two  preceding  species  are  subject 
to  the  white  mold  which  attacks  beets, 
and  may  also  harbor  on  their  roots 
the  small  striped  beet-feeding  beetle 
(Systena  tceniata,  Say)  both  in  the 
larval  and  mature  stages. 

It  requires  the  same  measures  for 
its  suppression  as  does  the  Tumble-     FIG.   76.  —  Prostrate  Pigweed 
weed.  (Amaranthus  blitoides).     X  1. 


124 


AMARANTHACEAE  (AMARANTH  FAMILY) 


SPINY  AMARANTH 
Amardnthus  spinosus,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Prickly  Careless  Weed,  Soldier  Weed. 
Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   June  to  September. 
Seed-time:   Late  July  to  November. 

Range:    Massachusetts  to  Michigan,  Illinois,  and  Kansas,  south- 
ward to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
Habitat:   Cultivated  ground,  meadows,  lawns,  and  waste  places. 

A  native  of  tropical  America  and  a  very  common  and  troublesome 
weed,  particularly  in  the  Southern  States.  Not  known  north  of 
Mason  and  Dixon's  Line  until  after  the  Civil  War,  when  it  suddenly 
appeared  in  many  places  —  most  probably  transported  in  the  feed- 
bags  of  returning  cavalrymen,  which  is 
the  reason  why  it  is  called  Soldier 
Weed,  not  because  of  its  own  weapons. 
Stem  one  to  four  feet  tall,  stout, 
grooved,  erect,  smooth,  branching  and 
bushy,  dark  green  or  often  purplish 
red.  Leaves  one  to  three  inches  long, 
broadly  lance-shaped,  pointed  at  both 
ends,  the  lower  ones  with  long  petioles  ; 
at  the  base  of  each  leaf  is  a  pair  of 
diverging  stipular  spines,  one-fourth  to 
one-half  inch  long,  rigid,  keen  as  awls. 
Flowers  small,  greenish,  the  upper  ones 
mostly  staminate,  forming  long,  slender 
spikes ;  fertile  ones  below  in  the  axils, 
the  clusters  usually  nearly  globular; 
bracts  awl-like,  about  as  long  as  the 
scarious,  sharp-pointed  sepals  ;  stamens 
five.  Seed  very  small,  lens-shaped, 
smooth,  dark,  shining  brown,  imper- 
fectly covered  by  the  utricle ;  it  is  too 
often  an  impurity  of  other  seeds, 
and,  like  all  its  family,  is  possessed 
Fro.  77.  —spiny  Amaranth  of  long  vitality  in  the  soil.  (Fig. 
(Amaranthus  spinosus).  X  J.  77.) 


AMARANTHACEAE  (AMARANTH  FAMILY) 


125 


Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production.  In  meadows  or  permanent  pastures 
every  stalk  should  be  closely  cut  or  hand-pulled  before  the  flower- 
spikes  develop.  Cultivated  ground  should  not  be  neglected  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  season,  for  it  is  the  late-blooming  plants  that 
usually  seed  the  soil.  Potato  and  corn  land  should  be  plowed  or 
well  disked  after  harvest,  and  a  winter  crop  sown  which  will  keep 
down  the  weed. 

WATER   HEMP 
Acnlda  tuberculdta,  Moq. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 
Seed-time:   August  to  October. 
Range:  Vermont  and  Massachusetts  to 

Manitoba  and  the  Dakotas,  southward 

to  Louisiana  and  New  Mexico. 
Habitat:    Wet   meadows,   swamps,  and 

marshes,  sides  of  ditches. 

Water  Hemp  has  somewhat  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  large,  succulent  Amaranth. 
Stem  smooth,  erect,  sometimes  nearly 
an  inch  in  diameter  at  the  base  and  at- 
taining ten  feet  or  more  in  height,  but 
more  often  three  to  six  feet  tall,  with 
many  slender,  flexuous  branches.  Leaves 
two  to  six  inches  long,  lance-shape  ap- 
proaching to  rhombic,  entire,  smooth 
but  with  prominent  pinnate  veins,  and 
pointed  at  both  ends ;  petioles  slender 
and  shorter  than  the  blades.  Flowers 
dioecious,  in  dense  terminal  or  axillary 
spikes,  sometimes  interrupted  and  leafy, 
each  small  and  greenish  blossom  guarded 
by  one  to  three  awl-like  bracts.  The 
sterile  flowers  have  five  stamens  and 
five  sharp-pointed,  erect,  one-nerved 
sepals,  longer  than  the  rigid  bracts ;  the 
pistillate  flowers  are  without  a  calyx  and 


FIG.    78.  — 
(Acnida  tuberculata) . 


126  AMARANTHACEAE  (AMARANTH  FAMILY) 

have  a  one-celled,  one-seeded  ovary  with  two  to  five  plume- 
like  stigmas.  The  small,  shining  seed  drops  from  its  place 
while  still  enclosed  in  an  egg-shaped,  valveless,  and  tuberculate 
Utricle,  which  makes  it  buoyant  and  easily  distributed  by  wind 
and  water.  (Fig.  78.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevention  of  seed  development  by  close  cutting  or  pulling  while 
in  early  bloom.     Drainage  and  cultivation  of  the  ground. 

JUBA'S  BUSH 

Ireslne  paniculata,  Ktze. 

Other  English  name:   Blood-leaf. 

Introduced.  Annual.  Propagates 
by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:    August  to  October. 

Range:  Ohio  to  Kansas,  and  south- 
ward to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Habitat:  Dry  fields,  meadows,  and 
waste  places. 

A  very  conspicuous  weed  because 
of  its  white  flowers  and  the  red  color 
which  the  foliage  often  assumes.  It 
is  a  native  of  tropical  America  and 
seems  to  have  a  preference  for  sterile, 
sandy,  or  gravelly  soils,  into  which 
its  roots  bore  deeply,  appropriating  an 
undue  share  of  the  little  food  and 
moisture  available. 

Stem  erect,  furrowed,  swollen  at 
the  nodes,  slender,  branching,  two  to 
five  feet  in  height.  Leaves  opposite, 
narrowly  ovate,  long-pointed,  be- 
coming lance-shape  near  the  top, 
smooth  and  entire,  with  short,  slen- 

79.  _  juba's  Bush  (Iresine    der  petioles.     Flowers  in  large  termi- 
paniculata).    x  i.  nal,  branching,  nearly  leafless  panicles, 


AMARANTHACEAE  (AMARANTH  FAMILY)  127 

the  blossoms  very  small,  with  silvery  white,  five-parted  calyx, 
subtended  by  three  dry,  white,  papery  bracts ;  the  pistillate 
flowers  are  densely  white-woolly  at  the  base  and  much  longer 
than  the  bracts.  Seed  small,  nearly  globular,  with  valveless 
utricle,  included  in  the  calyx.  (Fig.  79.) 

Means  of  control 

Close  cutting  or  pulling  in  early  summer  before  any  seed  has 
matured.  Enrichment  and  cultivation  of  the  ground,  providing 
humus  which  will  enable  the  soil  to  retain  moisture  and  support 
better  plants. 

FRCELICHIA 
Frcelichia  floridana,  Moq. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   June  to  September. 
Seed-time:   July  to  November. 
Range :  Southern  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota 

to    Colorado,    southward   to    Texas   and 

Florida. 
Habitat :  Dry,  sandy  soil ;   cultivated  crops, 

fields,  waste  places. 

An  unpleasant,  woolly-hairy  plant,  closely 
related  to  the  Rough  Pigweed  and  nearly  as 
troublesome,  intruding  in  all  sorts  of  crops 
and,  by  its  long  flowering  season,  compelling 
late  tillage. 

Stem  rather  slender,  erect,  one  to  three 
feet  tall,  with  a  few  ascending  branches 
near  the  base,  or  often  simple,  leafless  near 
the  top.  Leaves  opposite,  rather  thick, 
narrowly  lance-shaped,  sessile,  or  the  lower- 
most ones  somewhat  spatulate  and  tapering 
to  margined  petioles,  entire,  downy  on  the 
under  side.  Flowers  very  small,  perfect, 
three-bracted,  on  densely  crowded  spikes 

disposed  oppositely  in  branching  panicles;  FJ(J  80. _ Frcelichia 
calyx  densely  woolly,  tubular,  nve-toothed  (Frcelichia  floridana). 
at  the  apex,  and  has  irregular  toothed  wings  x  J. 


128  PHYTOLACCACEAE  (POKEWEED  FAMILY) 

along  its  sides ;  the  single  seed  inside  is  also  enclosed  within 
the  tube  formed  by  the  united  filaments  of  the  five  stamens. 
These  woolly  and  crested  seed  envelopes  are  very  light  and  blow 
easily  before  the  wind.  (Fig.  80.) 

Means  qf  control 

After  the  use  of  the  horse-hoe  is  impracticable,  continue  the 
tillage  of  infested  crops  in  order  to  prevent  the  distribution  of  late- 
maturing  seeds.  Plants  on  waste  ground  should  be  repeatedly  cut 
in  order  to  prevent  contamination  of  adjacent  land. 

POKEWEED   OR   POKEBERRY 
Phytoldcca  decdndra,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Virginia  Poke,  Scoke,  Garget,  Pigeon  Berry, 
Ink  Berry,  Cancer  Jalap,  Redweed. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by 


Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:  Late  August  to  No- 
vember. 

Range :  Maine  and  Ontario  to  Min- 
nesota, southward  to  Florida  and 
Texas. 

Habitat:  Fence  rows,  thickets,  and 
waste  ground. 

A  very  handsome  plant,  which  has 
been  carried  to  Europe  and  natural- 
ized as  an  ornament  in  gardens.  But 
when  growing  uncared  for  it  is  a 
dangerous  weed ;  the  root  is  very 
poisonous  and  the  berries  when  eaten 
cause  excessive  nausea  but  are  not 
emetic.  Both  root  and  berries  are 
used  in  medicine,  the  drug  market 
price  for  the  root  being  two  to  five 
cents  a  pound  and  for  the  berries 
five  cents  a  pound ;  the  latter  being 
FIG.  81.  —  Pokeweed  (Phytolacca  carefully  dried  on  the  stems,  when 
decandra).  x  $.  fully  ripe,  and  the  root  collected  in 


NYCTAGINACEAE  (FOUR-O'CLOCK  FAMILY)  129 

the  fall  when  well  stored  with  plant  substance,  cut  in  transverse 
slices,  and  dried. 

Stems  four  to  ten  feet  tall,  stout,  smooth,  usually  red  or  purplish. 
Leaves  oblong  lance-shaped,  rather  thick,  smooth,  deep  green, 
entire,  pointed  at  both  ends,  six  inches  to  a  foot  long,  with  short 
petioles ;  they  have  an  unpleasant  odor  when  bruised.  Flowers 
in  terminal  racemes,  which  by  the  further  growth  of  the  plant 
become  lateral  and  opposite  the  leaves;  calyx  white,  with  five 
rounded  sepals;  stamens  and  styles  ten.  Fruit  in  drooping 
clusters,  each  blossom  producing  a  juicy,  dark  purple  berry,  with 
ten  carpels,  each  containing  a  single  seed.  (Fig.  81.) 

Means  of  control 

Grub  out  wholly,  selling  root  and  fruit  to  pay  for  the  trouble  if 
possible ;  or  cut  off  below  the  crown  and  apply  dry  salt,  carbolic 
acid  or  kerosene  to  the  cut  surface  of  the  root. 

HEART-LEAVED   UMBRELLA-WORT 

Oxybaphus  nyctagineus,  Sweet 
(Allibnia  nyctaginea,  Michx.) 

Other  English  names :  Wild  Four  o'clock.     Umbrella  Plant. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   May  to  August. 

Seed-time:  June  to  September. 

Range:   Manitoba  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  southward  to  New 

Mexico,  Texas,  and  Louisiana. 
Habitat :   Prairies  ;    dry  fields  and  meadows. 

A  native  relative  of  the  garden  Four  o'clock,  and  a  very  per- 
sistent weed,  having  a  large,  fleshy,  deep-boring  taproot  which 
makes  it  a  gross  feeder  and  about  as  hard  to  dislodge  as  the  Curled 
Dock.  Stem  one  to  three  feet  tall,  angled,  smooth  or  nearly  so, 
branching  by  repeated  forking.  Leaves  opposite,  smooth,  entire, 
two  to  four  inches  long,  broadly  ovate  or  heart-shaped,  and  all  peti- 
oled  except  the  uppermost  pairs.  Flowers  in  forking  terminal  clus- 
ters, the  peduncles  and  pedicels  all  somewhat  hairy;  subtending 
each  cluster  of  three  to  five  flowers  is  a  saucer-shaped  or  umbrella- 
like  involucre,  five-lobed,  persistent,  and  enlarging  as  the  flowers 


130 


NYCTAQINACEAE  (FOUR-O'CLOCK  FAMILY) 


FIG.  82.  —  Heart-leaved  Um- 
brella-wort (Oxybaphus  nycta- 
gineus).  X  J. 


mature  until  it  becomes  nearly  an  inch 
broad,  thin,  and  net-veined,  acting  as 
a  parachute  in  the  distribution  of  the 
seeds ;  each  small  blossom  has  a  bell- 
shaped  five-lobed,  red  perianth,  with 
three  to  five  stamens  and  one  style, 
both  exserted.  Ovary  one-celled,  the 
fruit  a  small,  hard,  achene-like,  nar- 
rowly obovoid,  ribbed,  and  hairy  nut- 
let, possessed  of  long  vitality.  (Fig.  82.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seeding.  Cultivation  will 
cleanse  infested  fields  of  the  perennial 
roots,  but  small  areas  newly  con- 
taminated should  be  hand-pulled 
when  the  ground  is  soft,  or  should  be 
grubbed  out,  or  cut  close  to  the 
ground  and  the  fleshy  root-crowns 
treated  with  salt  in  order  to  prevent 
too  swift  a  recovery. 


HAIRY  UMBRELLA-WORT 

Oxybaphus  hirsutus,  Sweet 
(Allidnia  hirsuta,  Pursh.) 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  August. 

Seed-time:  August  to  September. 

Range:  Wisconsin  to  the  Plains  of  the  Saskatchewan, southward  to 
Colorado  and  Texas.  Locally  in  Ohio,  New  York,  and  Con- 
necticut. 

Habitat:   Prairies;    dry  fields  and  meadows. 

Even  more  resistant  than  the  preceding  species  to  summer's 
drought  and  winter's  freezing.  Stem  one  to  three  feet  tall,  erect, 
angled,  ridged,  sparingly  branched,  clothed  with  glandular  jointed 
hairs,  especially  at  the  nodes,  which  are  somewhat  swollen.  Leaves 
also  hairy,  oblong  or  narrowly  lance-shaped,  with  prominent  mid- 
vein,  entire,  sessile,  or  the  lower  ones  very  short-petioled.  Flowers 


NYCTAGINACEAE  (FOUR-O'CLOCK  FAMILY 


131 


small,  red,  similar  to  the  preceding  species,  but  clustered  on  very 
short  and  hairy  peduncles  and  pedicels,  giving  them  a  bunched 
appearance;  involucres  also  hairy.  Seed  small,  ovoid,  hairy, 
with  five  obtuse  ribs. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  preceding  species. 


FIG.  83.  —  Hairy  Umbrella- 
wort  (Oxybaphus  hirsutus). 
XI. 


FIG.  84.  —  Narrow-leaved 
Umbrella-wort  (Oxybaphus 
linearis).  X  J. 


NARROW-LEAVED  UMBRELLA-WORT 

Oxybaphus  linearis,  Robinson 
(Allionia  linearis,  Pursh.) 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  June  to  August. 


132 


NYCTOGINACEAE  (FOUR-O'CLOCK  FAMILY) 


Seed-time :  July  to  September. 

Range:    Minnesota  to  Utah,  southward  to  Mexico,  Texas,  and 

Missouri  to  the  Carolinas. 
Habitat :   Prairies  ;   dry,  sandy  fields  and  meadows. 

Taller  than  either  of  the  preceding  species,  the  stem  varying 
in  height  from  one  to  four  or  more  feet,  erect,  slender,  round  or 
only  slightly  angled  near  the  base,  smooth,  glaucous,  branching, 
and  somewhat  swollen  at  the  nodes.  Leaves  one  to  three  inches 
long,  linear,  thick,  smooth,  one-nerved,  sessile  or  the  lower  ones 
short-petioled  with  obtuse  tips,  the  upper  ones  distant  and  acutely 
pointed.  Flower-stalks  and  involucres  sparsely  covered  with 
glandular  hairs,  the  latter  obtusely  five-lobed  and  about  three- 
flowered;  perianth  also  finely  hairy,  purple, 
bell-shaped,  with  stamens  and  style  exserted 
beyond  the  five  obtuse  lobes.  Seed  very  small, 
hard  and  nut-like,  oblong  obovoid,  with  five 
hairy  ribs,  the  spaces  between  covered  with 
minute  tubercles. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  two  pre- 
ceding species. 

HOG  WEED 

Boerhaavia  erecta,  L. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   June  to  November. 
Seed-time:   July  to  December. 
Range:   South  Carolina  to  Florida,  Texas,  and 

Mexico. 
Habitat:   Cultivated  crops,  meadows,  and  waste 

places. 

A  native  of  tropical  America  now  very  com- 
mon in  the  rich  bottom  lands  of  the  Southern 
Seaboard  and  Gulf  States.  Stems  one  to  three 
feet  tall,  smooth,  diffusely  branched  from  the 
base,  spreading  wider  than  its  height.  Leaves 
one  to  three  inches  long,  opposite,  ovate  or 
weed  (Boerhaavia  sometimes  heart-shaped,  rather  thick  in  texture, 
erecta).  x  i.  with  slender  petioles,  scalloped  or  wavy  edges, 


ILLECEBRACEAE  (KNOTWORT  FAMILY)  133 

and  whitened  under-surface  specked  with  minute  black  dots. 
Flowers  very  small,  scarcely  a  twelfth  of  an  inch  broad,  in 
clusters  of  two  to  six  on  very  slender  peduncles ;  calyx,  funnel- 
shaped,  five-ribbed  and  five-lobed,  white  or  purple ;  stamens  five  or 
fewer,  exserted.  The  single  seed  is  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch 
long,  shaped  like  a  reversed  pyramid,  the  sides  strongly  five- 
ridged,  the  top  flat.  When  in  the  soil  the  seed  retains  its  vitality 
for  several  years.  (Fig.  85.) 

Means  of  control 

In  cultivated  ground,  very  thorough  and  continued  tillage  in 
order  to  prevent  the  distribution  of  late-maturing  seeds.  In 
meadows  the  hay  should  be  harvested  while  the  weed  is  in  its  first 
bloom,  with  repeated  cuttings  as  the  plants  recover.  But  rankly 
infested  fields  require  to  be  put  under  cultivation,  which  should  be 
followed  by  heavy  seeding  with  clover. 

KNAWEL 
Sclerdnthus  dnnuus,  L. 

Other  English  name:   German  Knot-grass. 
Introduced.      Annual  and    winter    annual. 

Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:    March  to  October. 
Seed-time:    May  to  November. 
Range :  Eastern  United  States  and  Canada, 

from    Quebec    and    Ontario    to    Florida. 

Locally  as  far  inland  as  Ohio. 
Habitat:    Gardens,  lawns,  fields,   meadows, 

and  roadsides. 

An  inconspicuous  but  persistent  little  weed, 
as  its  season  of  bloom  and  fruit  is  both  early 
and  late  and  the  seeds  when  undisturbed  in 
the  soil  retain  their  vitality  for  several  years. 

Roots   tough   and   fibrous,   sending   up   a 
number  of  slender,  light  green,  fork-branched 
stems,  three  to  six  inches  long,  usually  rough- 
hairy  but  sometimes  smooth,  some  erect  and    8el*rantk*»  annuus). 
some  prostrate  and  spreading  on  all  sides,    -x  J. 


134  ILLECEBRACEAE  (KNOTWORT  FAMILY) 

Leaves  awl-shaped,  opposite,  with  joined  bases,  and  about  a 
half-inch  long.  In  their  axils  and  at  the  ends  of  the  stems 
are  clustered  the  numerous  minute  greenish  flowers ;  these 
have  no  petals,  but  have  five  or  ten  stamens,  two  distinct  styles 
and  a  deeply  cut  five-lobed  calyx  (occasionally  four-lobed)  with 
a  hardened,  cup-like  tube  wrhich  later  encloses  and  persistently 
holds  the  solitary  seed.  These  hard  seed-coverings  —  with  their 
points  broken  off  —  are  sometimes  an  impurity  of  grass  and  clover 
seeds.  (Fig.  86.) 

Means  of  control 

Autumn  plants  should  be  destroyed  by  surface  cultivation  in 
early  spring.  Where  such  tillage  is  practicable,  persistent  hoe- 
cutting  during  the  growing  season  will  suppress  the  weed.  In 
lawns  a  few  drops  of  carbolic  acid,  squirted  on  the  crowns  with 
a  machine  oil-can,  destroys  the  plants  with  less  defacement  of  the 
sward  than  the  hoe  would  make. 


FORKED   CHICKWEED 

Anychia  polygonoides,  Raf. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  June  to  September. 

Seed-time:  July  to  October. 

Range:   Maine  to  Minnesota  and  southward  to  Florida,  Alabama, 

and  Arkansas. 
Habitat:   Gardens,  lawns,  fields,  roadsides. 

A  low,  widely  spreading,  nearly  prostrate  weed,  the  stems  three 
to  ten  inches  long,  branching  by  many  forkings ;  the  whole  plant 
finely  hairy,  at  least  when  young.  Leaves  many  and  crowded,  a 
quarter-inch  to  a  half-inch  long,  narrowly  lance-shape,  sessile  or 
tapering  to  very  short  petioles.  Flowers  greenish  and  so  minute 
as  to  be  hardly  noticeable,  sitting  sessile  in  the  forks  in  small 
clusters ;  they  are  without  petals,  but  have  a  five-parted  calyx,  two 
stigmas,  and  two  or  three,  occasionally  five,  stamens.  Each  blos- 
som produces  but  one  seed,  the  small,  plump,  globose  utricle  pro- 
truding beyond  the 'calyx-lobes. 


AIZOACEAE  (CARPETWEED  FAMILY) 


135 


Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  development  by  early  and  frequent  hoe-cutting. 
Forked  Chickweed,  like  Common  Chickweed,  may  be  killed  with  a 
spray  of  Iron  sulfate  or  Copper  sulfate  if  taken  just  before  or  during 
its  first  bloom,  when  it  is  most  tender  and  more  or  less  hairy. 


CARPETWEED 
Mollugo  verticilldta,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Indian  Chickweed,  Whorled  Chickweed. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  May  to  September. 

Seed-time:  June  to  October. 

Range:   New  Brunswick  to  Ontario  and  Minnesota,  southward  to 

the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
Habitat:   Gardens,  lawns,  fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

Like  Purslane  and  Common  Chickweed,  this  plant  seems  almost 
domesticated  in  its  liking  for  cultivated  fields  and  gardens.  It  is 
frequent  along  sandy  roadsides,  and  springs  up  in  the  crevices  of 
city  pavements  and  side- 
walks. 

Stems  three  inches  to  a 
foot  long,  smooth,  prostrate, 
branching  in  all  directions 
from  the  slender  root  and 
forming  circular  mats. 
Leaves  in  whorls  of  five  or 
six,  spatulate,  sessile,  entire, 
a  half-inch  to  an  inch  long. 
Flowers,  axillary,  very  small 
and  without  petals  but  hav- 
ing a  five-parted  calyx,  white 
inside  and  green  without, 
three  stigmas,  and  five  sta- 
mens if  they  alternate  with 
the  sepals  or  three  stamens  if 

they  alternate  with  the  three       FIG.  87.  —  Carpetweed  (Mollugo  verti- 
cells  of  the  ovary.    Seed  cap-  tiUatd).    x  i 


136  CABYOPHYLLACEAE  (PINE  FAMILY) 

sules  ovoid,  three-celled,  and  as  soon  as  ripe  the  partitions  break 
away  from  the  central  axes,  spilling  the  many  fine,  brown,  kidney- 
shaped  seeds  into  the  soil.  (Fig.  87.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  development  by  frequent  hoe-cutting.  After  the 
harvesting  of  corn,  potatoes,  or  other  hoed  crops,  harrow  the  ground 
so  as  to  destroy  the  later  growth  of  weed  seedlings. 

SPURRY 

Spergula  arvensis,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Corn  Spurry,  Sandweed,  Pickpurse. 
Introduced.     Annual  or  winter  annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 

Seed-time:  July  to  September. 

Range :  Throughout  eastern  United  States 
and  Canada. 

Habitat:  Cultivated  ground;  grain  and 
clover  fields.  Prefers  dry  soil,  and  is 
sometimes  grown  on  such  land  as  a 
forage  plant  for  sheep. 

So  rapid  is  the  growth  of  this  weed  that 
a  field  of  young  turnips  or  carrots  may  be 
swiftly  smothered  by  it ;  young  grasses 
and  clovers,  too,  sometimes  find  it  too 
aggressive. 

Stems  six  to  eighteen  inches  tall,  slen- 
der, erect,  bright  green,  branching  from 
the  base,  growing  from  slender,  branching 
roots.  Leaves  one  to  two  inches  long, 
linear  or  awl-shaped,  apparently  whorled 
at  the  joints  of  the  stem  but  really  growing 
in  two  opposite  clusters  of  six  to  eight, 
with  small  stipules  between.  Flowers  in 
terminal  cymes;  calyx  of  five  sepals, 
persistent ;  petals  white  and  longer  than 
88.  —  Com  Spurry  the  sepals,  open  only  in  sunshine ;  stamens 
(Spergula  anensis).  x i.  five  or  ten;  styles  five.  The  thread-like 


CARYOPHYLLACEAE  (PINK  FAMILY) 


137 


pedicels  droop  as  soon  as  the  seed  begins  to  form.  Pod  or 
capsule  with  five  valves,  which  are  opposite  the  sepals.  Seeds 
many,  dull  black,  small,  round,  flat,  sharply  margined,  rough- 
ened with  very  minute  pimples ;  they  are  a  frequent  impurity 
of  grass  and  clover  seed ;  also  they  possess  long  vitality  when 
lying  dormant  in  dry  soil.  (Fig.  88.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  development.  In  some  cases  ground  infested  with 
Spurry  may  profitably  be  grazed  off  by  sheep  while  the  plants  are 
young.  Among  crops  in  which  hoe-cutting  is  impracticable,  a  five- 
per-cent  solution  of  Copper  sulfate,  applied  when  the  plants  are 
about  half-grown  or  even  when  they  are  in  first  bloom,  will  prevent 
the  formation  of  seed.  Land  fouled  with  seeds  of  Spurry  should 
be  put  to  a  well-tilled  hoed  crop  before  being  seeded  with  grain  or 
clover. 

THYME-LEAVED   SANDWORT 

Arenaria  serpyllifolia,  L. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   May  to  August. 
Seed-time:   June  to  September. 
Range:    Throughout   North  America  except 

the  far  North. 
Habitat :   Dry  soil ;   waste  places. 


A  very  slender,  much-branched,  and  spread- 
ing little  plant.  Not  an  aggressive  weed 
but  merely  doing  its  best  to  cover  dry  and 
sterile  soil,  that  is  unsuited  to  plants  of 
more  worth.  Stems  two  to  eight  inches  high, 
light  green,  and  rough-hairy.  Leaves  op- 
posite, sessile,  ovate,  acute,  hardly  more  than 
a  quarter-inch  long.  Flowers  many,  very 
small,  white,  in  leafy,  cymose  panicles ; 
sepals  five,  lance-shaped,  pointed,  bristly  on 
the  back,  about  as  long  as  the  petals,  which 
are  also  five,  oblong  or  obovate.  Stamens 


FIG.  89.  — Thyme- 
leaved  Sandwort 
(Arenaria  serpylli- 


ten,  with  lilac  anthers.      Styles  three.     The    folia),    x  $. 


138 


CARYOPHYLLACEAE  (PINK  FAMILY) 


capsule  is  one-celled,  shaped  like  a  tiny  flask,  opening  at  the  top 
by  six  outward-curving  teeth.  Seeds  many,  very  small,  com- 
pressed, rough.  (Fig.  89.) 

Means  of  control 

Ground  preferred  by  Sandwort  is  not  fit  to  grow  much  else, 
until  it  has  been  enriched  and  supplied  with  humus,  which  will 
enable  it  to  retain  moisture ;  better  plants  will  then  soon  take  the 
place  of  the  weed. 

GRASS-LEAVED   STITCHWORT 

Stellaria  graminea,  L. 
(Alsine  graminea,  Britton) 

Other  English  names :  Lesser  Stitchwort,  Grassy 

Starwort. 
Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds 

and  by  rootstocks. 
Time  of  bloom :  May  to  July. 
Seed-time:   June  to  August. 
Range:    Nova  Scotia,   Quebec,  and  Ontario, 

southward  to  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania. 
Habitat:   Fields,  meadows,  and  roadsides. 


Graceful  plants,  which  are  usually  found 
growing  in  small  patches,  as  the  rootstocks 
send  up  flowering  stalks  at  intervals  of  a  few 
inches.  Stems  two  inches  to  two  feet  high, 
slender,  weak,  four-angled,  and  roughened  on 
the  angles,  simple  below  the  flower-cluster. 
Leaves  opposite,  narrowly  lance-shaped,  broad- 
est just  above  the  base,  the  lower  ones  smaller 
than  those  near  the  top.  Flowers  in  loose, 
terminal,  many-branching  cymes,  on  very 
slender,  spreading  pedicels ;  sepals  narrow  and 
pointed,  slightly  shorter  than  the  five  white 
petals,  which  are  so  deeply  cleft  as  to  look 
like  ten,  the  blossoms  being  nearly  a  half- 
inch  broad;  stamens  usually  ten,  sometimes 
fewer ;  styles  usually  three,  occasionally  four 
or  five.  Capsules  oblong-ovoid,  exceeding  the 


w 


FIG.  90.  —  Grass- 
leaved  Stitchwort 
(Stellaria  graminea'). 
X*. 


CARTOPHYLLACEAE  (PINK  FAMILY) 


139 


sepals,   opening    by  twice  as  many  valves  as  there  are    styles. 
Seeds  many,  minutely  roughened.     (Fig.  90.) 

Means  of  control 

Close  and  frequent  cutting  for  the  purpose  of  starving  the  root- 
stocks  and  preventing  seed  production. 


COMMON   CHICKWEED 

Stellaria  media,  Cyrill. 
(Alslne  media,  L.) 

Other  English  names:   Starwort,  Starweed,  Winterweed,  Birdweed. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  Throughout  the  year. 

Seed-time :  Throughout  the  four  seasons. 

Range:    Throughout  the  world. 

Habitat :   Gardens,  cultivated  fields,  lawns,  meadows,  waste  places. 

In  spite  of  its  frail  appearance,  this  plant  is  probably  the  hardiest 
and  the  most  persistent  weed  on  earth.  Its  range  nears  the  Arctic 
Circle,  and  the  writer  picked  green  and 
thrifty  stems,  bearing  buds,  flowers,  and 
seeds,  within  a  yard  of  a  melting  snow- 
bank, during  a  "January  thaw"  of  the 
present  winter.  The  seed,  though  small, 
retains  its  vitality  for  many  years. 

Stems  tufted,  slender,  weak,  many- 
branched,  creeping  or  ascending,  with  a 
fringe  of  hairs  down  one  side.  Leaves 
usually  not  much  more  than  a  half-inch  in 
length,  ovate,  smooth,  entire,  the  lower 
ones  with  hairy  petioles,  the  upper  ones 
sessile,  so  numerous  that  the  plant  often 
covers  the  ground  like  a  green  mat.  Flowers 
in  terminal,  leafy  cymes  or  solitary  in  the 
axils,  on  very  slender  pedicels ;  each  of  the 
five  small,  snowy  petals  is  cleft  down  its 
center,  forming  a  white  star,  which  is  set 
within  a  larger  green  one,  formed  of  media), 


140 


CARYOPHYLLACEAE  (PINK  FAMILY) 


five  oblong,  pointed  hairy  sepals,  joined  at  their  bases.  Stamens 
three  to  seven  and  styles  three  or  four.  Capsule  ovoid, 
longer  than  the  calyx  and  opening  at  the  apex  by  six  or  eight 
teeth,  or  twice  as  many  as  the  styles.  Seeds  very  numerous, 
round,  brown,  flattened,  roughened  with  rows  of  small  tubercles. 
(Fig.  91.) 

Means  of  control 

In  gardens,  constant  hoeing  or  hand-weeding,  while  the  plants  are 
young,  is  necessary  in  order  to  suppress  this  weed ;  but  among  crops 
that  will  not  be  injured  by  the  treatment,  such  as  peas,  strawberries, 
and  grain,  a  spray  of  Iron  sulfate  will  kill  young  Chickweed. 


FIG.  92.— Field 
Mouse-ear  Chick- 
weed  (Cerastium 
arvense).  X  \. 


FIELD   MOUSE-EAR   CHICKWEED 
Cerastium  arvense,  L. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and 

by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom :   April  to  July. 
Seed-time :   May  to  August. 
Range:     Labrador    to    Alaska,    southward    to 

Georgia,  Missouri,  and  California. 
Habitat :   Dry,  rocky  places,  usually  on  hills  in 

the   southern   part  of  its  range,   but  in  the 

North  invading  pastures  and  meadows. 

A  plant  which  is  in  many  places  cultivated 
for  its  beauty,  the  white,  starry  flowers  being 
more  than  a  half-inch  broad,  borne  in  graceful 
terminal  clusters.  But  its  creeping  rootstocks 
make  it  difficult  to  keep  within  bounds,  as  every 
joint  is  capable  of  forming  a  new  plant.  (Fig. 
92.) 

Stems  densely  tufted,  erect,  slender,  downy 
or  sometimes  nearly  smooth,  four  to  ten  inches 
tall,  simple  or  with  few  branches.  Leaves  rather 
thick,  linear  oblong  to  lance-shaped  or  the 
lower  ones  somewhat  spatulate.  Sepals  lance- 
shaped,  the  deeply  notched  white  petals  more 
than  twice  as  long.  Stamens  ten  or  fewer; 


CARYOPHYLLACEAE  (PINK  FAMILY)  141 

styles  usually  five,  sometimes  four  or  three.  Capsules  much  exceed- 
ing the  calyx  and  containing  many  small,  roughened  seeds  which  are 
released  by  the  opening  of  ten  pointed  teeth  at  the  apex.  In  the 
southern  part  of  its  range  the  plant  dies  down  in  summer,  but 
makes  a  second  growth  in  autumn  and  remains  green  through  the 
winter. 

Means  of  control 

Where  the  plant  takes  possession  of  grasslands  it  is  best  to  cleanse 
the  ground  with  a  short  rotation  of  hoed  crops.  Small  areas 
should  be  carefully  grubbed  out,  and  wayside  patches  prevented 
from  spreading. 

COMMON   MOUSE-EAR   CHICKWEED 
Cerdstium  vulgatum,  L. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   May  to  September. 
Seed-time :   June  to  October. 
Range:     Throughout   North   America  except 

the  extreme  North. 
Habitat:    Fields,  meadows,  yards,  roadsides, 

and  waste  places. 

Stems  tufted,  some  prostrate,  others  erect 
or  ascending,  six  inches  to  a  foot  or  more  in 
length,  dark  green,  and  clammy-hairy.  Basal 
and  lower  leaves  oblong-spatulate,  obtuse ; 
upper  ones  usually  oblong,  sometimes  lance- 
shaped,  a  half-inch  to  an  inch  long,  not  at  all 
resembling  the  ears  of  a  mouse.  Flowers  in 
loose  cymose  clusters,  the  central  one  solitary 
and  always  the  oldest ;  usually  but  one  flower 
in  a  cluster  is  open  at  a  time ;  the  five  white 
petals  are  cleft  at  the  tip  and  are  longer  than 
the  somewhat  obtuse,  hairy  sepals ;  styles 
always  five,  and  stamens  ten.  Seed  capsule  FIG.  93.  — Common 
slenderly  ovoid,  faintly  ridged,  slightly  curved 
upward,  opening  through  ten  pointed  teeth 


142  CARYOPHYLLACEAE  (PINK  FAMILY) 

at    its    summit.       Seeds    very    numerous,    brown    and    rough. 
(Fig.  93.) 

Means  of  control 

In  cultivated  ground  this  weed  is  not  very  troublesome,  as  its 
spreading,  rather  shallow-growing  roots  are  readily  destroyed  by 
the  required  tillage.  In  grain  fields  its  spreading  habit  makes  it 
obnoxious,  as  it  appropriates  more  food  and  moisture  than  the  crop 
can  afford.  Here  it  can  be  killed  when  young,  or  so  checked  in 
growth  as  to  prevent  seed  development,  by  a  spray  of  Iron  sulfate, 
though  it  is  not  so  sensitive  to  that  treatment  as  is  the  garden 
Chickweed. 

PURPLE   COCKLE 

Agrostemma  Githago,  L. 
(Lychnis  Githago,  Scop.) 

Other  English  names:    Corn  Cockle,  Corn  Rose,  Corn  Campion, 

Crown  of  the  Field,  Mullein  Pink. 

Introduced.     Annual  and  winter  annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   Late  May  to  July. 
Seed-time :  July  to  August. 

Range :   Throughout  the  world,  wherever  grain  is  grown. 
Habitat:   Grain  fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

"A  very  little  Cockle  is  sufficient  to  cut  the  grade,"  says  a  market 
report  from  one  of  the  wheat-growing  states.  The  plant  is  particu- 
larly a  weed  of  grain  fields,  and  it  is  there  because  it  is  sown  there. 
The  seed  is  poisonous,  and  when  ground  with  wheat  the  flour  is 
rendered  unwholesome  and  even  dangerous  as  food.  Poultry  and 
other  animals  have  been  killed  when  fed  with  screenings  composed 
largely  of  seeds  of  Cockle.  (Fig.  94.) 

Stem  erect,  slender,  one  to  three  feet  tall,  simple  or  with  a  few 
branches  near  the  top,  clothed  with  whitish,  appressed  hairs. 
Leaves  opposite,  a  character  common  to  the  Pink  Family ;  two  to 
four  inches  long,  lance-shaped  to  linear,  the  lowest  slightly  narrowed 
at  the  base,  all  softly  hairy.  Flowers  terminal  on  long,  hairy 
peduncles,  often  an  inch  and  a  half  broad,  with  five  spreading, 
reddish  purple  petals,  which  are  slightly  notched  at  the  outer  edge 
and  dark-spotted  near  the  claw ;  calyx  ovoid,  hairy,  and  strongly 


CARYOPHJLLACEAE  (PINK  FAMILY) 


143 


ten-ribbed,  with  five  long,  pointed  lobes  extending  beyond  the 
petals;  styles  five,  opposite  the  petals;  stamens  ten.  Capsule 
ovoid,  one-celled,  sometimes  exceeding  a  half-inch  in  length,  and 
containing  twenty-five  to  forty  black  or  very  dark  brown  seeds, 
rounded  triangular  in  shape  and  roughened 
with  rows  of  short  teeth ;  the  size  and 
weight  of  the  seeds  make  them  very  diffi- 
cult to  remove  from  grain  among  which 
they  are  mixed.  When  in  the  soil  they 
retain  their  vitality  for  several  years. 

Means  of  control 

Sow  clean  seed.  When  Cockle  is  first 
discovered  among  the  grain,  hand-pull  and 
destroy  the  plants  before  any  seed  matures. 
If  a  field  is  too  rankly  infested  for  hand- 
pulling,  an  application  of  Copper  sulfate 
or  Iron  sulfate  spray  will  so  injure  the 
tissues  of  leaf  and  flower  as  to  prevent  the 
development  of  seed.  Ground  where 
Cockle  seed  has  ripened  and  been  dis- 
tributed should  not  be  used  for  grain 
again  until  after  some  cultivated  crop 
has  been  given  a  place  in  the  rotation,  x  1. 

RAGGED   ROBIN 
Lychnis  Flos-cuculi,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Meadow  Pink,  Meadow  Campion,  Cuckoo 

Flower. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 
Seed-time:   July  to  September. 

Range :  New  Brunswick  to  New  Jersey,  and  westward  to  Ohio. 
Habitat :   Moist  soil ;   meadows  and  waste  places. 

An  escape  from  flower  gardens,  and  a  pernicious  weed  wherever 
established  because  of  its  perennial  roots.  Its  seeds  are  said  to 
have  some  of  the  same  poisonous  properties  as  those  of  its  relative 
the  Corn  Cockle,  but  not  to  so  dangerous  an  extent.  (Fig.  95.) 


144 


CARYOPHTLLACEAE  (PINK  FAMILY) 


FIG.  95.  — Ragged 
Robin  (Lychnis  Flos- 
cuculi). 


Stem  one  to  two  feet  tall,  erect,  slender, 
branching  near  the  top,  downy-hairy  below, 
somewhat  clammy  above.  Basal  and  lower 
leaves  spatulate,  tapering  to  a  margined  pet- 
iole; upper  leaves  sessile,  few,  becoming  very 
small  as  they  ascend  the  stalk.  Flowers  in 
loose,  spreading  panicles ;  those  of  plants  cul- 
tivated in  gardens  usually  pink,  white  or  blue, 
but  those  of  the  wild  plant  usually  magenta-red, 
nearly  an  inch  broad,  each  of  the  five  petals 
divided  into  four  slender  lobes,  the  middle 
pair  of  lobes  being  longest,  causing  the  flower 
to  have  a  ragged,  fringy 
look;  calyx  short,  ten- 
nerved,  smooth.  Capsule 
nearly  globular,  one- 
celled,  many-seeded. 

Means  of  control  the 
same  as  for  the  Corn 
Cockle. 


RED   CAMPION 
Lychnis  diolca,  L. 


Introduced.    Biennial.    Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:  June  to  September. 
Seed-time:   July  to  October. 
Range:  Nova  Scotia,  Ontario,  New  England, 

and  the  Middle  States. 
Habitat:   Grain  fields,  meadows,  roadsides, 

and  waste  places. 


Stems  one  to  twro  feet  tall,  erect,  clammy- 
hairy  particularly  just  below  the  swollen 
joints,  branching  near  the  top.  Basal  leaves 
oblong,  pointed,  long-petioled ;  stem-leaves 
sessile  or  the  lower  ones  with  short  petioles, 

ovate,  acute.     Flowers  in  cymose  clusters,    FIG.  96.— Red  Campion 
each  nearly  an  inch  broad,  dioecious,  without      (Lychnis  dioica).   x  i. 


CAEYOPHYLLACEAE  (PINK  FAMILY) 


145 


fragrance,  and  open  in  the  daytime;  petals  deeply  notched,  red, 
or  often  nearly  white ;  calyx  on  staminate  plants  tubular  but  on 
fertile    plants    becoming    nearly    globular,   the   teeth   short    and 
acute.     Capsules  large,  one-celled,  many-seeded.     (Fig.  96.) 
Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  White  Cockle. 


WHITE   COCKLE 

Lychnis  dlba,  Mill 
(Lychnis  vespertlna,  Sib.) 

Other  English  names:   Evening  Lychnis,  White  Campion. 

Introduced.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   Late  June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:     Eastern    and    middle    United 

States  and  Canada. 
Habitat:     Grain   fields,   meadows,    and 

waste  places. 


This  plant  develops  a  thick,  fleshy 
root,  from  which  it  sends  up  several 
slender,  branching  stems,  one  to  two  feet 
in  height,  somewhat  hairy  and  viscid. 
Leaves  long  ovate  to  lance-shaped,  the 
lower  ones  tapering  to  margined  petioles, 
the  upper  ones  smaller,  acute,  and  ses- 
sile. Flowers  in  loose  panicles,  usually 
dioecious,  numerous,  white  or  often 
tinged  with  pink,  fragrant,  each  about 
an  inch  broad,  opening  in  the  evening 
and  closing  after  sunrise  the  next  day ; 
each  of  the  five  petals  is  deeply  notched 
at  the  outer  edge,  and  at  the  inner  point 
is  a  pair  of  white,  scale-like  bracts, 
narrowing  the  throat  of  the  flower  which 
is  fertilized  by  long-tongued,  night-flying 
moths.  Sterile  flowers  have  usually  ten 
stamens.  Calyx  of  the  fertile  flowers 
much  inflated,  crimson-tinged  along  the  pIG 
hairy  ribs.  Styles  five.  Capsules  one- 


97.   —   White    Cockle 
(Lychnis  alba).     X  f 


146  CARYOPHYLLACEAE  (PINK  FAMILY) 

celled  large,  ovoid,  with  ten  inbent  valves  at  the  apex  which  curve 
outward  when  ripe  and  from  which  the  seeds  are  shaken  out  as  the 
winds  sway  the  stems ;  seeds  very  abundant,  small,  grayish  brown, 
beaded  with  fine  tubercles ;  too  frequent  an  impurity  among  those 
of  grain,  grass,  and  clover.  (Fig.  97.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production  by  close  cutting  or  hand-pulling  at  the 
time  of  first  bloom.  Meadows  and  grain  fields  where  the  plants 
have  been  permitted  to  distribute  seed  should  be  broken  up  and 
given  a  short  rotation  of  cultivated  crops  before  reseeding. 

SLEEPY   CATCHFLY 
Silene  antirrhlna,  L. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   June  to  September. 
Seed-time:    Late  July  to  October. 
Range:   Ontario  and  New  England  to  British 

Columbia,  southward  to  Florida  and  Mexico. 
Habitat:     Dry   meadows,   waste   places,    open 

woods. 

An  inconspicuous  plant  because  of  its  habit  of 
keeping  its  flowers  closed  except  for  a  very  short 
time  each  day  while  the  sun  shines  brightest. 
Its  seeds,  however,  are  often  found  among 
those  of  grass  and  clover. 

Stem  eight  inches  to  two  feet  high,  slender 
and  glutinous  below  the  swollen  joints.  Leaves 
small,  the  lower  ones  about  two  inches  long, 
spatulate,  narrowing  to  a  margined  petiole; 
stem-leaves  narrow  and  sessile,  reduced  near 
the  top  to  awl-like  bracts.  Flowers  in  a  cymose 
panicle  on  very  slender  pedicels,  each  less  than 
a  quarter-inch  broad,  the  five  pink  petals 
notched;  styles  three,  rarely  four;  stamens 

JciG.    Uo.  —  feleepy  .~  ,  .  ,  •          i          i 

Catchfly  (Silene  ten-  Capsule  ovoid,  opening  by  three  or  six 
antirrhina).  x  J.  teeth  at  the  apex,  one-celled  or  imperfectly 


CARYOPHYLLACEAJE  (PINK  FAMILY)  147 

three-celled    at    base,  a    characteristic   of   all    the   Silenes ;    the 
seed  is  small  and  dark  brown.     (Fig.  98.) 

Means  of  control 

Hay  should  be  cut  from  infested  meadows  before  the  seed  matures 
and  falls  into  the  soil.  It  is  better  that  there  should  be  some  pres- 
ent loss  if  thereby  the  ground  is  made  comparatively  clean  for  the 
next  crop. 

FORKED   OR   HAIRY   CATCHFLY 
Silene  dichotoma,  Ehrh. 

Introduced.     Annual  and  winter  annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:  August  to  October. 

Range:    Eastern   United   States,   Maine   to   Texas;    also   on   the 

Pacific  Slope. 
Habitat:   Clover  fields,  meadows,  and  waste  places. 

A  special  pest  in  clover  fields.  Stem  erect,  hairy,  one  to  three 
feet  tall,  branching  by  forking.  Lower  leaves  petioled,  two  or 
three  inches  long,  pointed  at  both  ends,  the  lowermost  tapering 
to  hairy  petioles ;  stem-leaves  sessile,  becoming  mere  pointed 
bracts  near  the  top.  Flowers  in  forking,  one-sided  spikes,  sessile 
or  on  very  short  pedicels ;  petals  five,  pale  pink  or  white,  deeply 
cleft ;  styles  three,  exserted ;  stamens  ten ;  calyx  about  a  half-inch 
long,  five-ribbed,  very  hairy,  short-toothed.  Capsule  many-seeded, 
oblong  ovoid,  opening  at  apex  by  three  or  six  teeth. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  Sleepy  Catchfly. 


NIGHT-FLOWERING   CATCHFLY 
Silene  noctifldra,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Clammy  Cockle,  Sticky  Cockle. 

Introduced.     Annual  and  winter  annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range:    Nova   Scotia   to   Manitoba,   southward   to   Florida   and 

Missouri. 
Habitat :   Cultivated  ground ;    clover  and  alfalfa  fields,  meadows, 

and  waste  places. 


148  CAKYOPHYLLACEAE  (PINK  FAMILY) 

First  cultivated  in  gardens  because  of  its  fragrance  and  beauty, 
but  now  a  widespread  pest.  Stem  one  to  three  feet  tall,  erect, 
rather  stout,  branching,  covered  with  glandular,  viscid  hairs. 
Basal  and  lower  leaves  three  to  five  inches  long,  spatulate,  narrow- 
ing to  margined  petioles ;  upper  leaves  sessile,  often  uniting 
around  the  stem;  ovate  to  lance-shaped, 
acute.  Flowers  in  spreading  cymes,  few 
but  large,  often  more  than  an  inch  across, 
very  fragrant,  creamy  white,  with  five 
deeply  cleft  petals  opening  at  twilight  to 
close  again  at  sunrise ;  stamens  ten ;  styles 
three;  calyx-tube  more  than  a  half -inch 
long,  becoming  much  inflated  and  show- 
ing beautiful  ten-lined  markings  in  two 
shades  of  green.  Capsule  ovoid,  six- 
toothed  at  the  opening,  and  containing 
many  grayish  brown  seeds  roughened 
with  rows  of  fine  tubercles ;  these  seeds 
are  very  difficult  of  removal  from  those 
of  clover  and  alfalfa.  (Fig.  99.) 

Means  of  control 

Sow  clean  seed.     In  fields  to  be  har- 
vested for  seed  the  weed  should  be  hand- 
FIG.  99.  —  Night-flower-    pulled    at    the    opening    of    its    earliest 
ing  Catchfly  (Silene  nocti-     *  „,, 

flora),    x  i.  flowers.      where   practicable,   cut  young 

plants  from  their  roots  with  spud  or  hoe, 

well  below  the  crown.     Rankly  infested  fields  should  be  broken  up 
and  put  under  cultivation  for  a  season. 

BLADDER   CAMPION 

Silene  latifdlia,  Britten  and  Rendle 
(Silene  infl&ta,  Sm.) 

Other   English   names:    White   Bottle,    Cow-bell,    Bubble   Poppy, 

Spattling,  Behen. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 
Time  of  bloom :   Late  May  to  August. 
Seed-time:   July  to  October. 


CARYOPHYLLACEAE  (PINK  FAMILY) 


149 


Range:    New  Brunswick  and  Ontario  southward  to  New  Jersey, 

Illinois,  and  Iowa. 
Habitat :   Moist  soil ;   fields,  meadows,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

A  beautiful  flower,  but  also  a  very  pernicious  weed.  Stems 
thickly  tufted,  six  inches  to  two  feet  in  height,  pale  green,  smooth 
and  glaucous;  some  stems  of  each  tuft  are 
flowerless  but  bear  many  leaves  that  assimi- 
late food  for  storage  in  the  rootstocks. 

Leaves  rather  thick  in  texture  and  glau- 
cous, obiong,  pointed,  the  upper  ones  often 
meeting  around  the  stems,  the  lower  ones 
usually  spatulate,  narrowing  to  margined 
petioles.  Flowers  in  loose,  open  panicles, 
on  slender  pedicels,  white,  drooping,  each 
blossom  about  a  half -inch  broad,  the  five 
petals  deeply  cleft,  and  ten  long  stamens 
out-thrust,  tipped  with  brown  anthers ;  styles 
three ;  calyx  pale  green,  very  much  inflated, 
beautifully  veined,  sometimes  with  pinkish 
purple,  sometimes  with  markings  of  deeper 
green.  Capsule  broadly  ovoid,  opening  with 
five  recurved  teeth.  Seed  rounded  kidney- 
shaped,  brown,  roughened  with  fine  tuber-  campion  (Silme  tt£- 
cles.  (Fig.  100.)  folia),  xi 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production.  Cut  the  stalks  from  the  roots  well 
below  the  crowns,  with  hoe,  spud,  or  broad-bladed  cultivator,  so 
frequently  that  little  or  no  sustenance  may  be  given  the  creeping 
rootstocks.  If  the  infested  ground  is  in  meadow  it  should  be 
broken  up  and  put  to  cultivated  crops,  well  tilled  for  two  or  more 
seasons. 

BOUNCING  BET 
Saponaria  officinalis,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Soapwort,  Scourwort,  Fuller's  Herb,  Old 
Maid's  Pink,  Hedge  Pink,  Sweet  Betty,  Wild  Sweet  William, 
Lady-by-the-Gate,  London  Pride. 


150 


CARYOPHYLLACEAE  (PINE  FAMILY) 


Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 
Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 
Seed-time:   Late  August  to  November. 
Range:   Throughout  eastern  North  America. 

Habitat:    Along  roadsides  and  railways;    in  old  pastures  and  on 
waste  ground. 

In  pioneer  days,  when  the  art  of  soap-making  had  not  approached 
its  present  excellence,  housewives  knew  that  fine  woolens  and  silks 
could  be  well  cleansed  with  a  slippery, 
sudsy  solution  made  by  bruising  the 
mucilaginous  stems  and  leaves  or  young 
rootstocks  of  this  plant  in  water.  For 
this  purpose  a  patch  of  it  was  kept 
handy,  and  hence  its  names  Soapwort 
and  Fuller's  Herb.  The  cylindrical 
roots  —  not  the  stolons  —  are  used  in 
medicine,  and  are  worth  five  to  ten 
cents  a  pound  in  the  drug  market  when 
collected  in  late  autumn  or  early  spring, 
carefully  cleansed,  and  dried.  (Fig.  101.) 
Stems  in  tufts,  one  to  two  feet  tall, 
stout  and  smooth,  with  swollen  joints. 
Leaves  opposite,  long  ovate,  three- 
nerved,  pointed,  rather  thick,  smooth, 
sessile  or  with  short,  broad  petioles. 
Flowers  pink,  usually  double,  in  large, 
dense,  terminal,  corymbose  clusters ; 
cal^x  tubular>  nve-toothed ;  stamens 
ten ;  styles  two ;  Ovary  one-celled  or 
sometimes  incompletely  two-  or  four-celled.  Capsule  oblong, 
conic,  opening  by  four  short  teeth  at  apex.  Seeds  rough,  dark 
slate-color  or  dull  black,  shortened  kidney-shaped;  they  con- 
tain a  poisonous  property  called  saponin,  like  that  which  makes 
dangerous  the  seeds  of  the  related  Cow  Cockle  and  Corn  Cockle. 

Means  of  control 

If  the  patches  are  small,  grubbing  out  is  the  best  remedy.  Caustic 
soda  or  hot  brine  is  effectual,  but  the  ground  will  be  barren  until 


CARYOPHYLLACEAE  (PINK  FAMILY) 


151 


the  chemicals  have  leached  away.  Constant  cutting  of  the  green 
tops  will  finally  starve  the  rootstocks,  if  continued  without  cessa- 
tion for  two  seasons. 

COW   COCKLE 

Saponaria  Vaccdria,  L. 

Other  English  names :  Cow-herb,  Spring  Cockle,  Pink  Cockle,  China 

Cockle. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   June  to  July. 
Seed-time:   July  to  August. 
Range:    Ontario  to  British  Columbia,  southward  to  the  Gulf  of 

Mexico.     Locally  very  abundant,  especially  in  the  wheat-growing 

parts  of  the  West. 
Habitat:   Grain  and  alfalfa  fields,  waste  places. 

An  immigrant  from  Europe,  where  it  is  said  to  have  been  formerly 
used  as  a  forage  plant,  the  specific  name,  Vaccaria,  having  been  given 
in  allusion  to  its  value  as  cow  fodder. 
But  it  is  listed  among  the  "Stock- 
Poisoning  Plants  of  Montana,"  in  the 
bulletin  of  that  name  published  by  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture, and  its  seeds,  like  those  of  Corn 
Cockle,  contain  a  poisonous  property 
that  makes  flour  unwholesome  and  dan- 
gerous to  use  when  by  accident  they 
are  ground  with  wheat.  Grain  contami- 
nated with  these  seeds  is  sharply  "cut" 
in  the  market.  (Fig.  102.) 

Stem  one  to  three  feet  tall,  erect, 
slender,  smooth,  glaucous,  round,  and 
swollen  at  the  joints,  many-branched. 
Leaves  long  ovate,  pointed,  smooth 
and  glaucous,  opposite  and  clasping  the 
stem,  the  pairs  sometimes  united  at 
base.  Flowers  in  loose  corymbose  clus- 
ters, on  rather  long,  wriry  pedicels  ;  calyx 
a  swelling,  five-ribbed  vase  in  two  shades 
of  green,  the  ribs  darker  and  so  promi- 


FIG.     102.  —   Cow     Cockle 
(Saponaria  Vaccaria).    X  i. 


152  PORTULACACEAE  (PURSLANE  FAMILY) 

nent  as  to  be  angled  wings  ;  the  five  petals  pink,  veined  with  deeper 
pink,  notched  at  the  outer  edge ;  stamens  ten  ;  styles  two.  Cap- 
sule ovoid,  four-toothed,  imperfectly  two-  to  four-celled,  containing 
twenty  to  thirty  hard,  nearly  globular,  black  seeds,  about  a  tenth 
of  an  inch  in  diameter.  These  seeds  retain  their  vitality  for  several 
years  when  buried  in  the  soil. 

Means  of  control 

Sow  clean  seed.  A  Montana  miller  stated  that  the  quantity  of 
Cow  Cockle  seed  cleansed  yearly  from  the  wheat  brought  to  his 
mill,  and  supposed  to  be  already  clean,  was  about  a  ton.  Seed 
should  be  made  as  clean  to  sow  in  one's  fields  as  to  be  eaten  in  bread. 
Raking  the  grain  fields  with  a  weeding  harrow  when  the  crop  is  but 
a  few  inches  high  will  kill  very  many  of  the  Cockle  seedlings ;  those 
not  killed  by  the  harrow  should  be  hand-pulled  at  the  time  of  their 
earliest  bloom,  when  they  show  very  conspicuously  among  the  grain. 
The  process  is  a  paying  one,  even  though  the  weeds  are  so  many  as 
to  make  the  task  somewhat  strenuous,  for  the  food  and  moisture 
used  in  their  development  is  stolen  from  the  rightful  crop,  which  is 
the  poorer  for  it.  Stubbles  where  the  weed  has  matured  seed 
should  be  burned  over  and  the  ground  used  for  a  cultivated  crop 
before  being  again  seeded  to  grain. 


PURSLANE 
Portuldca  oleracea,  L. 

'  Other  English  names:  Pussley,  Wild  Portulaea,  Duckweed. 
Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   Late  June  until  cut  off  by  frost. 
Seed-time:   July  until  killed  by  frost. 

Range:   Throughout  North  America  except  the  northern  part. 
Habitat:   Cultivated  ground,  waste  places. 

The  noted  experiments  with  buried  seeds,  conducted  by  W.  J. 
Beal,  Botanist  of  the  Michigan  Agricultural  Experiment  Station, 
demonstrated  that  the  seeds  of  Purslane  will  germinate  after  having 
lain  dormant  in  the  soil  for  thirty  years.  Few  gardens  are  without 
the  weed.  It  is  said  to  harbor  both  the  melon  plant  louse  and 


PORTULACACEAE  (PURSLANE  FAMILY)  153 

the  corn  root  louse ;    also  it  is  sometimes  attacked  by  a  white 
mold,  which  may  make  it  a  menace  to  better  plants. 

Stems  four  inches  to  more  than  a  foot  in  length,  prostrate,  thick, 
round,  smooth,  succulent,  branching  on  all  sides  from  the  central 
root  and  again  often  forking.  Leaves,  alternate,  obovate  or  wedge- 
shaped,  with  rounded  tips,  very  small,  thick,  and  fleshy,  mostly 
clustered  at  the  ends  of  the  branches.  Both  stems  and  leaves 
often  have  a  reddish  tinge.  Flowers  solitary,  sessile,  about  a 
quarter-inch  broad,  opening  only  in  the  brightest  sunshine ;  sepals 
two,  broad,  pointed,  keeled ;  four  to  six  —  mostly  five  —  broadly 
rounded  yellow  petals,  soon  falling  away;  stamens  seven  to 
twelve;  style  five-  or  six-parted. 
Capsule  urn-shaped,  one-celled, 
membranous,  many-seeded,  open- 
ing transversely  and  the  top  fall- 
ing off  like  a  lid ;  when  near 
maturity,  the  plants  can  hardly 
be  touched  without  sowing  these 
seeds  by  hundreds.  The  weed 
is  most  tenacious  of  life,  often 
readjusting  itself  after  having 
been  torn  up  bodily,  the  fleshy 
stems,  and  leaves  sustaining  it 
while  doing  so,  if  not  placed 
where  the  feat  is  impossible. 
(Fig.  103.) 

Means  of  control 

Killing  while   in   the   seedling 

stage  by  constant  shallow  hoeing   ^ 

J    .  .   6    FIG.  103.  —  Purslane    (Portulaca  ole- 

is  the  only  way  of  vanquishing  raced).    x$. 

this  weed.  If  old  enough  for  seed- 
cones  to  begin  to  form,  plants  should  be  removed  from  the  soil,  for 
the  stems  and  roots  retain  life  enough  to  ripen  and  distribute  seed. 
Pigs  are  very  fond  of  Purslane,  and  one  of  those  greedy  animals  will 
dispose  of  a  considerable  crop.  Or  the  plants  may  be  thrown  on  a 
compost  heap,  where  fermentation  will  destroy  the  vitality  of  the  seeds. 


154 


RANUNCULACEAE  (CROWFOOT  FAMILY) 


CURSED   CROWFOOT 
Ranunculus  sceleratus,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Celery-leaved   Crowfoot,   Ditch  Crowfoot, 

Bog  Buttercup. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   May  to  August. 
Seed-time:  June  to  October. 
Range :   New  Brunswick  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  Florida ;   also 

in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  Colorado,  and  Utah.     Native  to  Europe 

and  Asia. 
Habitat :  Wet  meadows,  low  pastures,  along  ditches  and  in  bogs. 

Cattle  ordinarily  are  careful  to  reject  all  Buttercups,  because 
of  their  acrid  and  poisonous  juices,  but  when 
first  turned  out  to  grass  in  the  spring  they 
are  likely  to  graze  so  eagerly  as  to  get  some 
of  the  young  leaves  of  this  one,  which  causes 
an  inflammation  of  mouths  and  digestive 
tracts,  sometimes  so  severe  as  to  be  fatal. 
Stem  stout,  sometimes  over  an  inch  thick 
at  the  base,  smooth,  hollow,  much-branched, 
six  inches  to  two  feet  in  height.  The  alter- 
nate leaves  are  also  very  smooth  and  rather 
thick,  the  basal  ones  rounded  heart-shape  in 
outline,  but  deeply  three-  to  five-lobed, 
bluntly  toothed  or  entire,  with  long,  broad, 
flattened  petioles ;  stem-leaves  also  three- 
parted,  but  the  lobes  are  more  slender,  ap- 
proaching to  wedge-shape,  those  near  the 
top  becoming  linear.  Flowers  small,  the  five 
pale  yellow  petals  scarcely  exceeding  the 
calyx;  stamens  and  styles  numerous.  Ra- 
nunculus fruits  are  composed  of  many  one- 
seeded  carpels  tipped  by  more  or  less  elon- 
gated styles ;  in  this  species  the  heads  are 
oblong,  the  length  nearly  thrice  the  thick- 

,  ness,  each  one  closely  set  with  many  minute, 

FIG.  104.  —  Cursed  ,                 ,      ,                ,               ,                  .    . 

Crowfoot    (Ranuncu-  short-beaked    carpels,    each    containing    one 

lus  sceleratus).    x  i.  oval,  flattened,  dull  brown  seed. 


RANUNCULACEAE  (CROWFOOT  FAMILY) 


155 


Means  of  control 

Cut  or  pull  while  in  early  bloom  in  order  that  no  seeds  shall  be 
allowed  to  ripen. 

SMALL-FLOWERED   CROWFOOT 
Ranunculus  abortlvus,  L. 

Other  English  names :  Abortive  Buttercup,  Kidney-leaved  Crowfoot. 
Native.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   Late  April  to  August. 
Seed-time:  June  to  September. 

Range :   Labrador  to  Manitoba,  southward  to  Florida  and  Texas. 
Habitat :  Moist  soil ;   meadows,  lawns,  and 
cultivated  ground,  particularly  strawberry 


This  plant  is  readily  identified  by  the 
great  difference  between  its  root  leaves  and 
stem-leaves ;  the  basal  leaves  being  thick  of 
texture,  bright  green,  rounded  heart-shaped 
or  kidney -shaped,  with  scalloped  edges  and 
long  petioles ;  the  stem-leaves,  three-  to  five- 
parted,  with  wedge-shaped  or  linear  seg- 
ments, the  lowermost  with  short  petioles, 
those  near  the  top  sessile ;  all  are  smooth, 
as  is  also  the  stem,  which  is  erect,  slender, 
many-branched,  six  to  eighteen  inches  tall. 
Flowers  numerous  but  very  small,  the  pale 
yellow  petals  being  hardly  noticeable  and 
shorter  than  the  reflexed  sepals.  The  small 
seed-head  is  globose,  the  carpels  minute, 
tipped  with  a  mere  bristly  point.  (Fig. 
105.) 

Means  of  control 

Better  drainage;  for  this  Crowfoot  is 
a  plant  that  demands  moisture.  Early 
cutting  with  hoe  or  spud  in  order  that  no 
seed  may  be  permitted  to  develop. 


FIG.  105.  —  Small- 
flowered  Crowfoot  (Ra- 
nunculus abortivus).  X  J. 


156 


RANUNCULACEAE  (CROWFOOT  FAMILY) 


EARLY  BUTTERCUP 

Ranunculus  fascicularis,  Muhl. 

Other  English  names:   Early  Crowfoot,  Tufted  buttercup. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   April  to  May. 

Seed-time:   Late  May  to  July. 

Range:   New  England  and  Ontario  to  Manitoba,  southward  to  the 

Carolinas,  Texas,  and  Arkansas. 
Habitat :   Hillsides ;   upland  fields  and  pastures. 

The  earliest  of  the  Buttercups  ;•  it  springs  from  a  tuft  or  bundle 
of  roots,  which  look  as  though  meant  to  be  fibrous  but  are  thickened 
and  fleshy.  Stems  tufted,  six  inches  to  a 
foot  high,  the  whole  plant  covered  with  fine, 
silky,  close-pressed  hairs.  Leaves  small, 
three-parted,  the  terminal  segment  long- 
stalked  and  again  thrice  divided ;  the  peti- 
oles slender.  Flowers  almost  an  inch 
broad,  glossy  yellow,  often  with  more  than 
five  petals,  which  are  spatulate  and  much 
longer  than  the  spreading  calyx.  Seed- 
head  globose,  each  achene  tipped  with  a 
curved  and  awl-like  beak  about  as  long 
as  itself.  (Fig.  106.) 

Means  of  control 

The  hilly  nature  of  the  ground  on  which 
this  weed  grows  best  very  often  forbids  its 
cultivation  because  the  fertile  top  soil  is  in 
danger  of  washing  down  the  slopes.  But 

FIG.  106. Early  But-  cattle  reject   the  plant,  the  seeds    mature 

tercup  (Ranunculus  fasti-  and  scatter,  and  the  weed  gradually  en- 
cularis).    x*.  croaches    until    the    turf    is   ruined.     The 

best   remedy   is   deep   hoe-cutting   in   the   first   days  of   bloom. 


Native  and  introduced. 

stolons. 
Time  of  bloom:   May  to  July 


CREEPING   BUTTERCUP 
Ranunculus  ripens,  L. 

Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by 


RANUNCULACEAE  (CROWFOOT  FAMILY) 


157 


Seed-time :   Late  June  to  August. 

Range :  Nova  Scotia  to  Virginia.  On  the  Atlantic  Coast  an  immi- 
grant from  Europe,  but  several  varieties  are  native  in  the  West 
and  the  South. 

Habitat:   Moist  meadows  and  pastures,  roadsides,  waste  places. 

Where  this  plant  is  plentiful  it  is  likely  to  monopolize  a  large 
amount  of  space ;  for  after  the  early  bloom  is  past  its  energies  are 
devoted,  for  the  remainder  of  the  grow- 
ing season,  to  throwing  out  numerous 
slender  runners,  one  to  three  feet  long, 
from  every  joint  of  which  a  young  plant 
may  take  root.  The  roots  are  fibrous 
and  tufted;  the  stem  is  about  a  foot 
high,  and  hairy,  but  often  only  slightly 
so ;  the  runners  also  are  usually  hairy  at 
the  base,  the  leaves  on  veins  and  peti- 
oles. Leaves  three-parted,  all  three 
segments  usually,  and  the  terminal  one 
always,  with  a  footstalk ;  all  irregularly 
cut  and  toothed,  often  blotched  with 
white.  Flowers  bright  golden  yellow, 
nearly  an  inch  broad,  the  petals  ob- 
ovate,  much  longer  than  the  spreading 
sepals.  Fruits  in  globose  heads,  the 
achenes  flattened  and  having  a  thin  mar- 
gin and  a  stout,  bent  beak.  (Fig.  107.) 


FIG.  107.  —  Creeping  But- 
tercup (Ranunculus  repens). 
X*. 


Means  of  control 

Its  manner  of  growth  causes  the  weed 
to  form  patches,  which,  if  not  too  many 

and  too  large,  may  be  cleaned  out  with  the  hoe,  of  course  before 
the  first  seed  is  developed.  Ground  too  rankly  overspread  to  be 
so -cleansed  should  be  put  under  cultivation  for  a  season. 

BULBOUS  BUTTERCUP 

Ranunculus  bulbbsus,  L. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   May  to  July. 
Seed-time:   July  to  October. 


158 


EANUNCULACEAE  (CROWFOOT  FAMILY) 


Range:   Throughout  the  United  States  and  southern  Canada,  but 

most'  abundant  in  the  eastern  part. 
Habitat:   Meadows,  pastures,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

The  range  of  this  weed  has  of  late  years  greatly  increased,  mostly 
by  the  agency  of  baled  hay.  It  is  one  of  the  most  acrid  of  its  tribe, 
the  juices  causing  blisters  when  applied  to  the  skin,  and  cattle  can- 
not eat  it  in  the  green  state;  but  drying  seems  to  deprive  it  of 
this  dangerous  quality,  and  therefore  less 
strenuous  endeavor  is  made  for  its  extermi- 
nation than  is  deserved  by  so  noxious  a 
weed. 

The  bulbous  base  of  this  plant  is  well 
fringed  with  long,  fibrous,  feeding  roots. 
Several  stems  usually  grow  from  the  same 
root-tuft,  six  to  eighteen  inches  high,  erect, 
slender,  more  or  less  branched,  grooved  and 
hairy.  Lower  leaves  long-petioled,  three- 
parted,  with  the  segments  again  usually 
three-cleft,  sharply  toothed,  the  terminal 
segment  having  a  somewhat  lengthened 
stalk.  Stem-leaves  much  smaller,  less  di- 
vided and  sessile.  Flowers  bright  yellow, 
so  lustrous  that  they  reflect  light,  about 
an  inch  broad,  the  petals  much  longer  than 
the  hairy,  reflexed  sepals ;  the  blossoms 
are  often  partly  double,  the  peduncles  slen- 
der and  grooved.  Head  globose,  contain- 
ing many  small  flattened,  short-beaked  carpels,  so  nearly  of 
the  size  and  weight  of  grass  seeds  that  they  are  very  difficult  of 
separation.  (Fig.  108.) 

Means  of  control 

Hand-digging  will  pay  if  the  infestation  is  new  and  the  plants 
not  so  numerous  as  to  make  the  task  impracticable ;  but  it  is  worth 
considerable  trouble  to  save  a  plot  from  being  fouled  by  the  seeds. 
Ground  too  rankly  infested  to  be  so  cleansed  should  be  broken  up, 
put  to  cultivated  crops,  and  be  given  thorough  tillage  for  one  or 
two  seasons. 


FIG.  108.  —  Bulbous 
Buttercup  (Ranunculus 
bulbosus).  Xi- 


RANUNCULACEAE  (CROWFOOT  FAMILY) 


159 


MEADOW  BUTTERCUP 

Ranunculus  dcm,  L. 

Other  English  names :  Tall  Crowfoot,  Butter  Flower,  Blister  Flower, 

Goldcup,  Kingcup. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   May  to  September. 
Seed-time:   June  to  October. 
Range :  Throughout  the  United  States  and  Canada ;  most  common 

and  troublesome  at  the  North. 
Habitat:   Meadows,  pastures,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

The  juices  of  this  weed  are  so  acrid  as  to  draw  blisters  when 
applied  to  the  skin.  Grazing  cattle  seem  to  know  its  character  and 
shun  the  plant.  This  irritant 
quality  is  dispelled  in  drying, 
however,  and,  though  as  hay  the 
plant  is  woody  and  innutritious, 
it  will  not  then  injure  the  mouths 
and  intestines  of  animals  that 
eat  it. 

Stem  two  to  three  feet  tall, 
springing  from  clustered  and 
fibrous  roots,  erect,  hollow,  hairy, 
branched  at  top.  Basal  leaves 
tufted,  three-  to  seven-parted, 
the  divisions  again  cleft  into 
several  narrow,  pointed  lobes ; 
petioles  long,  slender,  and  hairy ; 
upper  leaves  short-petioled,  dis- 
tant, usually  three-parted. 
Flowers  bright  yellow,  nearly  an 
inch  broad,  the  five  petals  broadly 
obovate,  much  longer  than  the 
spreading  calyx.  Fruits  in  small, 
globose  heads,  the  achenes  some- 
what compressed,  and  with  short- 
pointed  beaks.  (Fig.  109.) 
Means  of  control 

Where  the  plants  are  few,  pulling  and  hoe-cutting  will  repay  the 
labor ;   but  grass  lands  too  rankly  cursed  with  Ranunculus  should 


FIG.    109.    —    Meadow    Buttercup 
(Ranunculus  acris).     X  J- 


160 


RANUNCULACEAE  (CROWFOOT  FAMILY) 


be  broken  up  and  put  to  cultivated  crops,  and  well  fertilized  and 
tilled  for  a  year  or  two  before  being  reseeded  heavily  with  clean 


THIMBLEWEED 

Anemone  virginidna,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Tall  Anemone,  Virginia  Anemone. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 

Seed-time:   July  to  September. 

Range:    Nova   Scotia  and   Maine   to   Manitoba  and   Minnesota, 

southward  to  the  Carolinas  and  Kansas. 
Habitat:    Upland  meadows  and  pastures,  borders  of  woods,  and 

fence  rows;   waste  places. 

A  tall,  hairy  plant  which  is  rejected  by  grazing  animals,  either 
as  hay  or  as  green  forage.  Stem  two  to  three  feet  high,  with  a 
few  tufted  leaves  at  its  base  and  a 
whorl  of  three  involucral  leaves  at  the 
base  of  its  flower-stalks.  Base-leaves 
broader  than  long,  three-parted,  the 
segments  broadly  wedge-shaped  and 
again  cut  into  pointed  and  sharply 
toothed  lobes ;  they  are  softly  hairy 
and  have  prominent  veins  and  long, 
slender  petioles.  The  three  involucral 
leaves  have  short  petioles  and  are  also 
three-parted,  the  lateral  segments  twice 
and  the  middle  one  thrice  divided, 
and  sharply  toothed.  If  the  plant 
bears  but  one  flower,  its  peduncle  is 
leafless,  but  usually  there  are  several 
lateral  stalks  and  these  have  a  two- 
leaved,  short-petioled  involucel  at  the 
middle.  Flowers  a  half-inch  to  an  inch 
broad,  without  petals  but  having  five 
greenish  white  sepals  surrounding  a 
thick  central  tuft  of  many  yellow  sta- 

Fio.     no.   -   Thimbleweed    mens    and    awl-shaped    styles.     Seed- 
(Anemonemrginiana).    x  i.     heads  oblong,   cylindric,   about  three- 


SANUNCULACEAE  (CROWFOOT  FAMILY)  161 

fourths  of  an  inch  long  and  half  as  thick;  achenes  flattened, 
pointed  by  the  withered  styles,  and  densely  woolly,  which  makes 
them  easy  to  be  distributed  by  the  wind.  (Fig.  110.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  formation  of  seed  by  cutting  or  pulling  while  in  early 
bloom.     Cultivation  of  the  ground  at  once  destroys  the  weed. 

FIELD   LARKSPUR 
Delphinium  Consdlida,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Knight's  Spur,  Lark-heel. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   June  to  August. 

Seed-time:    July  to  September. 

Range:     New    Jersey,    Pennsylvania,    and    Ohio, 

southward  to  Florida ;   locally  in  the  Northern 

States. 
Habitat:  Fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

A  lovely  plant,  both  in  leaf  and  flower,  brought 
to  this  country  to  beautify  our  gardens  and  grow- 
ing wild  as  an  "escape."  In  Europe  its  leaves 
are  reputed  to  be  poisonous  to  cattle,  particularly 
when  the  plant  is  young  and  growing  rapidly,  but 
in  this  country  it  is  regarded  as  far  less  dangerous 
than  the  native  perennial  Larkspurs  so  common 
in  the  West. 

Stems  erect,  smooth  or  nearly  so,  one  to  two 
feet  in  height,  the  branches  spreading  at  wide 
angles.  Leaves  deep  green,  sessile  or  with  very 
short  petioles,  palmately  compound,  the  lobes 
again  divided  into  numerous  linear,  cleft  segments. 
Flowers  in  loose,  terminal  racemes,  blue  or  violet- 
purple,  sometimes  lilac  or  white ;  they  are  very 
irregular,  with  five  colored  sepals,  the  upper  one 
extending  into  a  long,  curved  spur  at  the  base; 
petals  two  in  this  species,  with  base  enclosed  in 
the  spur  of  the  calyx  and  united.  Fruit  a  single  DI pTni^m 
erect,  smooth  follicle,  tipped  with  a  slender  beak  Consolida).  x|. 


162  RANUNCULACEAE  (CROWFOOT  FAMILY) 

formed  of  the  persistent  style,  and  containing  many  angled, 
roughened,  black  seeds,  which  are  sometimes  an  impurity  of  grass 
seeds  and  grain.  (Fig.  111.) 

Means  of  control 

Small  areas  and  plants  in  grain  fields  are  best  destroyed  by  hand- 
pulling  at  the  time  of  first  flowering,  when  the  weed  is  most  con- 
spicuous among  surrounding  crops.  Infested  meadows,  waste 
land,  and  roadsides  should  be  closely  cut  while  the  plants  are  in 
early  bloom,  thus  preventing  reproduction. 

DWARF  LARKSPUR 

Delphinium  tricdrne,  Michx. 

Other  English  name:   Stagger  Weed. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  May  to  June. 

Seed-time:  June  to  July. 

Range:    Pennsylvania  to  Minnesota  and  Nebraska,  southward  to 

Georgia  and  Arkansas. 
Habitat:   Upland  fields,  meadows,  and  pastures,  open  woods,  and 

waste  places. 

The  range  of  the  Dwarf  Larkspur  includes  much  grazing  land, 
and  the  losses  caused  by  it  yearly  are  very  considerable.  It  is 
said  to  be  the  most  dangerous  in  early  spring,  when  the  young  green 
leaves  are  but  a  few  inches  above  the  ground.  Full-grown  plants 
not  only  contain  less  of  the  poisonous  properties,  but  are  less 
attractive  as  forage,  and  it  is  stated  that  deaths  from  Larkspur 
poisoning  nearly  always  occur  before  the  plants  are  in  bloom. 

Stem  rather  stout,  simple,  nearly  smooth,  succulent,  six  to 
fifteen  inches  tall,  springing  from  tuberous  and  clustered  roots. 
Leaves  palmate,  on  long  petioles,  each  of  the  five  lobes  again 
deeply  but  unequally  three-  to  five-cleft.  Panicles  loose  and  open, 
bearing  usually  not  more  than  six  or  eight  bright  blue  flowers  about 
an  inch  in  length ;  the  upper  sepal,  or  spur,  is  nearly  straight  and 
ascending ;  petals  four,  the  two  upper  ones  yellowish  with  blue 
lines,  the  lower  two  bearded  inside  with  white  hairs.  Follicles 
three  or  four,  widely  divergent,  each  about  an  inch  long,  tipped 


RANUNCULACEAE  (CROWFOOT  FAMILY) 


163 


with  a  short  beak.  The  seeds  are  smooth. 
As  soon  as  they  mature  the  foliage  dies 
down  and  the  plant  seems  to  be  dead. 
(Fig.  112.) 

Means  of  control 

The  perennial  roots  must  be  killed  and 
that  is  most  quickly  and  certainly  accom- 
plished by  removing  them  from  the  soil. 
The  clustering  tubers  do  not  lie  very 
deeply  beneath  the  surface  and  may  be 
readily  grubbed  out,  or  even  pulled  by 
hand,  when  the  ground  is  soft.  Hand- 
labor  is  expensive,  but  the  price  of  a  valu- 
able cow  would  pay  the  wages  of  an 
ordinary  farm  laborer  for  a  considerable 
time.  Land  too  rankly  infested  to  be 
so  cleansed  should  be  put  under  thorough 
cultivation  and  then  heavily  reseeded. 

SKY-BLUE  LARKSPUR 

Delphinium  aziireum,  Miehx. 
(Delphinium  carolinianum,  Walt.)  FIQ.  112.  — Dwarf  Lark- 

spur  (Delphinium  tricorne) . 
'     Other  English  names :   Carolina  Larkspur,   X  |. 

Azure-flowered  Larkspur. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   May  to  July. 
Seed-time:  July  to  September. 
Range:    Virginia,   the  Carolinas,   and   Georgia,   to  Arkansas  and 

Missouri,  northward  to  Minnesota  and  the  Saskatchewan. 
Habitat:   Prairies,  fields,  and  meadows. 

A  very  beautiful  species  often  cultivated  in  gardens.  Stem  one 
to  two  feet  in  height,  slender,  clothed  in  very  fine,  ashy-gray  hairs. 
Leaves  deeply  three-  to  five-parted,  the  lobes  with  very  slender, 
almost  linear  bases,  and  each  again  twice  or  thrice  divided  into 
narrowly  linear  segments ;  petioles  long  and  slender,  dilated  at  the 
base.  Racemes  terminal,  four  to  eight  inches  long,  the  flowers 
numerous,  large,  short-pedicelled,  deep  sky-blue  occasionally 


164  RANUNCULACEAE  (CROWFOOT  FAMILY) 

varying  to  white;  the  spur  is  long,  and  usually  lies  horizontally 
with  the  tip  tilted  upward;  four  petals  shorter  than  the  sepals, 
the  lower  two  densely  bearded  within.  Follicles  in  threes,  about 
an  inch  long,  covered  with  fine  down,  and  tipped  with  an  awl -like 
beak ;  they  are  held  erect  or  very  slightly  spreading,  their  pedicels 
close  to  the  stalk.  Seeds  about  a  tenth  of  an  inch  long,  angled, 
and  roughened  with  transverse  wrinkles. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Dwarf  Larkspur. 

TALL   MOUNTAIN  LARKSPUR 
Delphinium  glaucum,  S.  Wats. 

Other  English  names:  Cow  Poison,  Smooth  Larkspur,  Large  Lark- 
spur. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 

Seed-time:  August  to  October. 

Range:   California,  Idaho,  and  Montana,  northward  to  Alaska. 

Habitat:  Foothills  and  mountain  valley  pastures  to  an  altitude  of 
about  nine  thousand  feet. 

The  chief  sufferers  from  this  noxious  plant  are  cattle,  since  sheep 
are  seldom  driven  to  the  mountain  pastures  before  July  and  by  that 
time  the  plant  has  grown  too  large  and  coarse  for  their  cropping 
and  is  besides  less  virulent  than  in  its  younger  stages.  It  is  when 
the  tufted  base  leaves  first  appear  in  April  and  May  that  they  are 
most  dangerous  and  also  most  succulent  and  tempting  to  stock- 
Frequently  the  danger  is  increased  by  the  fall  of  light  spring  snows, 
which  cover  the  young  grass,  and  the  Larkspur's  taller  foliage  is 
the  only  forage  showing  green  above  the  snow. 

Stem  four  to  seven  feet  tall,  stout,  simple,  ridged,  and  covered 
with  a  white  bloom  (glaucous).  The  base  leaves  which  first  rise 
from  the  thick,  woody  roots  are  long-petioled,  smooth,  glaucous, 
four  to  six  inches  broad,  rounded  in  outline,  five-  to  seven-lobed, 
the  segments  rather  broad,  long-pointed,  and  deeply  cut ;  the 
lower  stem  leaves  are  smaller,  with  fewer  lobes,  becoming  simple 
and  lance-shaped  as  they  ascend  the  stalk.  Raceme  terminal, 
long  and  slender,  the  flowers  numerous,  rather  small,  pale  blue  or 
white.  Follicles  in  threes,  smooth,  erect,  tipped  with  a  short 
beak ;  the  seeds  are  black. 


RANUNCULACEAE  (CROWFOOT  FAMILY)  165 

Means  of  control 

Herding  cattle  away  from  places  where  the  plant  abounds  during 
the  spring  months,  when  it  is  most  dangerous.  But  in  some 
localities  it  is  considered  that  extermination  by  digging  would  be 
feasible  and  a  paying  investment  of  labor.  An  instance  is  given  by 
Chesnut l  and  Wilcox  of  a  Montana  range  where  forty  cattle  had 
died  in  a  single  month  from  eating  this  plant.  "  A  careful  inspec- 
tion of  this  range  showed  that  the  Tall  Larkspur  was  entirely  con- 
fined to  a  few  areas  of  small  size.  It  is  believed  that  it  could  all  be 
completely  exterminated  by  twenty-five  days'  work  with  a  weed 
digger  designed  for  severing  the  roots  at  a  short  distance  below  the 
ground.  The  expense  of  this  labor  would  not  exceed  the  value  of 
two  cattle  and  this  number  is  much  less  than  the  average  annual 
loss  from  the  Tall  Larkspur  on  this  range."  Similar  conditions 
prevail  on  many  other  ranges. 

PURPLE   LARKSPUR 

Delphinium  bicolor,  Nutt. 

Other  English  name:   Poison  Weed. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   May  to  August,  according  to  altitude. 
Seed-time:  July  to  September. 

Range:   Colorado  and  Wyoming  to  Oregon,  northward  to  Alaska. 
Habitat:   Hillsides,  bench  lands,  and  mountain  ranges  Up  to  about 
ten  thousand  feet. 

Very  common  in  most  parts  of  its  range  and  much  less  restricted 
in  its  habitat  than  the  Tall  Larkspur,  this  plant  is  considered  by 
stockmen  even  more  pernicious.  Sheep  are  most  often  its  victims 
but  other  stock  also  are  affected.  It  is  a  small  plant,  six  to  fifteen 
inches  tall,  smooth  or  only  slightly  hairy,  rather  stout  for  its  height, 
the  stem  rising  from  thick,  fascicled,  deep-set  roots.  Leaves  deeply 
five-  to  seven-parted,  the  segments  again  divided  into  nearly  linear 
lobes,  which  on  the  lower  leaves  have  rounded  tips  but  above  be- 
come more  slim  and  pointed.  They  are  succulent  and  liked  by 
grazing  animals  only  when  young,  the  time  when  they  are  mostharm- 

1  The  Stock-poisoning  Plants  of  Montana :  A  preliminary  report.  Bulletin 
No.  26,  Division  of  Botany,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 


166  RANUNCULACEAE  (CROWFOOT  FAMILY) 

ful.  Raceme  terminal,  the  flowers  few  but  large,  often  exceeding 
an  inch  in  width,  the  sepals  and  the  spurs  of  about  the  same  length 
and  of  a  deep,  rich  purple ;  the  two  upper  petals  pale  yellow  or 
white,  and  netted  over  with  purple  veins.  Follicles  three,  smooth, 
erect  or  sometimes  recurving.  Like  the  Buttercups,  Larkspurs 
seem  to  lose  much,  if  not  all,  of  their  toxic  quality  when  dried  in 
hay ;  but,  unfortunately,  the  seeds  retain  vitality,  and,  when  the 
hay  is  baled  and  sold,  are  likely  to  increase  the  range  of  a  very 
noxious  weed. 

Means  of  control 

In  restricted  localities  and  small  areas,  the  perennial  roots  may 
be  pulled  or  grubbed  out  or  the  land  may  be  put  under  cultivation 
and  reseeded.  But  on  open  ranges,  the  only  practicable  way  seems 
to  be  to  guard  the  animals  by  herding  them  away  from  the  weed 
until  it  becomes  so  mature  that  they  will  eat  other  forage  in  pref- 
erence. 

SMALL   LARKSPUR 
Delphinium  Menziesii,  DC. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  April  to  July,  varying  with  altitude. 

Seed-time:   June  to  September. 

Range :   Northern  Colorado  to  California,  and  northward  to  British 

Columbia. 
Habitat:   Hillsides  and  mountain  valleys,  ascending  to  about  eight 

thousand  feet. 

As  this  plant  seldom  exceeds  a  foot  in  height,  stockmen  and 
herders  are  accustomed  to  speak  of  it,  and  also  of  Delphinium  bi- 
color,  as  the  "Little  Larkspurs,"  in  contradistinction  to  their 
neighbor,  Delphinium  glaucum,  which  sometimes  attains  seven  feet 
and  is  called  the  "Big  Larkspur"  or  "Large  Larkspur."  It  is 
generally  regarded  as  less  poisonous  than  D.  bicolor,  although 
E.  V.  Wilcox  *  reports  a  case  on  a  Montana  range  where  a  flock 
of  six  hundred  sheep  were  poisoned  by  it,  of  which  two  hundred 
and  fifty  died;  and  the  same  poisonous  alkaloid,  called  delpho- 

1  "  Thirty  Poisonous  Plants  of  the  United  States."  Farmers'  Bulletin  No. 
86,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 


RANUNCULACEAE  (CROWFOOT  FAMILY) 


167 


curarin,  has  been  extracted  from  both 
these  species.  (Fig.  113.) 

The  plant  springs  from  a  cluster  of 
thickish,  oblong  tubers,  fringed  with  fine 
feeding  rootlets.  Stem  simple,  slender, 
often  bent  or  flexuous,  both  it  and  the 
foliage  finely  hairy ;  the  lower  leaves 
have  long  petioles,  slightly  dilated  at 
base,  and  are  deeply  five-parted,  the 
segments  again  twice  or  thrice  divided ; 
the  upper  leaves  are  small,  oftenest  of 
three  nearly  linear  segments.  Raceme 
terminal,  slender,  the  flowers  few,  on 
long,  nearly  erect  pedicels ;  they  are  large 
and  showy,  deep  violet-blue,  the  sepals 
and  the  spurs  nearly  equal  in  length, 
bearded  outside ;  the  two  upper  petals 
are  yellowish  but  are  distinguishable 
from  D.  bicolor  because  they  are  not 
net-veined.  Follicles  three,  widely  re- 
curving at  maturity,  the  seeds  black  and 
winged  on  the  outer  angles. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Del- 
phinium bicolor. 

WESTERN   LARKSPUR 

Delphinium  trollifdlium,  Gray 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   April  to  June. 

Seed-time:  June  to  August. 

Range:   Oregon,  Washington,  Idaho  and  British  Columbia. 

Habitat :  Moist  soil  along  streams,  foothills  ;  meadows  and  pastures. 

A  very  beautiful  plant  but  in  some  localities  it  bears  the  un- 
pleasant names  of  Cow-poison  or  Cow-killer.  Stem  .two  to  five  feet 
tall,  slender,  leafy.  Leaves  large,  three-  to  seven-parted,  often 
somewhat  kidney-shaped  at  base,  the  segments  wedge-shaped  and 
deeply  cut  and  lobed  at  the  tips.  Racemes  large  and  loose,  often 


FIG.  113.  —  Small  or 
Menzies  Larkspur  (Del- 
phinium Menziesii).  X  i- 


168 


BERBERIDACEAE  (BARBERRY  FAMILY) 


more  than  a  foot  long  in  the  larger  plants ;    flowers  large  and 
deep  blue  with  the  two  upper  petals  white ;  spur  and  sepals  about 

equal  in  length,  often  three- 
fourths  of  an  inch.  Follicles 
smooth,  the  seeds  with  a  thin 
margin  or  wing  at  the  end. 
(Fig.  114.) 

Means  of  control  the  same  as 
for  the  Purple  Larkspur. 


FIG.  114.  —  Western  Larkspur  (Del-     FIG.  115.  — Common  Barberry  (Berberis 
phinium  trollifolium) .     X  i-  vulgafis).     X  i- 


COMMON   BARBERRY 
Berberis  vulgaris,  L. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  May  to  June. 

Seed-time:    Fruit  ripe  in  September,  but  persistent  on  the  stems 

until  winter. 

Range:  Eastern  and  Middle  United  States. 
Habitat:   Fence  rows,  thickets,  and  waste  ground. 


PAP 'AVERAGE 'AE  (POPPY  FAMILY)  169 

The  peasant  farmers  of  Europe,  long  before  science  had  ex- 
plained "  the  reason  why,"  were  very  certain  that  wheat  fields  would 
be  smitten  with  rust  if  Barberry  bushes  grew  near  by,  and  insisted 
on  their  extirpation.  Doctor  William  Darlington,  in  his  most 
instructive  book  on  "American  Weeds  and  Useful  Plants"  pub- 
lished in  1847,  sarcastically  mentions  that  "It  was  formerly  a 
popular  belief  and  one  that  prevails  yet  to  some  extent,  that  the 
Barberry  possesses  the  power  of  blasting  grain ;  the  fallacy  of  this 
idea  has  been  proved."  But  popular  belief  was  right,  nevertheless, 
for  it  is  now  known  that  the  wheat-rust  fungus  (Puccinia  graminis) 
passes  one  stage  of  its  life  on  the  leaves  of  the  Barberry. 

The  plant  is  a  shrub,  four  to  eight  feet  high ;  leaves  alternate  or 
fascicled,  one  to  two  inches  long,  obovate,  obtuse,  thick,  smooth, 
bristly-toothed,  growing  in  the  axils  of  small,  three-forked  spines. 
Flowers  in  pendulous  racemes,  yellow,  each  with  six  roundish  sepals, 
six  petals,  upcurved  and  with  two  small  glands  at  the  base,  six 
stamens,  sensitive,  springing  up  against  the  stigma  when  touched. 
Fruit  an  oblong,  scarlet  berry ;  birds  eat  the  fruit  and  void  the  seeds 
in  thickets  and  along  the  fences,  which  accounts  for  the  frequency  of 
the  plants  in  such  places.  (Fig.  115.) 

Means  of  control 

Plants  that  menace  the  grain  fields  should  be  grubbed  out  and 
destroyed,  but  in  the  house  grounds  or  the  garden  borders  there  is 
no  shrub  more  graceful  and  attractive. 


GREAT   CELANDINE 
Chelidonium  mdjus,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Swallow-wort,  Tetterwort,  Felonwort,  Wart- 
weed,  Kill-wart,  Devil's  Milk. 
Introduced.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   April  to  August. 

Seed-time:   June  to  September.  v 

Range:   Maine  to  Ontario,  southward  to  Virginia. 
Habitat:    Farmyards,  roadsides,  waste  places,  borders  of  woods. 

Chelidon  means  a  swallow,  and  it  is  said  that  the  swallows  come 
with  the  first  opening  flower  of  this  plant  and  go  as  the  last  bloom 


170 


PAP  AVERAGE  AE  (POPPY  FAMILY) 


fades.  When  bruised,  the  weed  exudes  an  orange-colored  juice 
with  a  disagreeable  odor,  bitter  and  acrid,  once  considered  a  sure 
cure  for  warts,  corns,  pimples,  boils,  and  "tetters"  of  every  kind, 
even  to  the  painful  felon.  It  still  has  good  standing  in  the  United 
States  Pharmacopoeia,  and  the  drug  market  pays  collectors  six  to 
eight  cents  a  pound  for  the  herb,  pulled 
entire  when  in  full  flower  and  carefully 
dried. 

Stems  one  to  two  feet  high,  weak,  brittle, 
sparsely  hairy,  and  swollen  at  the  joints. 
Leaves  large,  thin,  gray-green,  once  or  twice 
pinnatifid,  the  segments  deeply  cut  and 
scallop-toothed ;  petioles  dilated  at  base 
and  clasping  the  stem.  Flowers  in  axillary 
umbellate  clusters,  the  peduncles  about  as 
long  as  the  leaves,  the  pedicels  of  unequal 
length ;  stamens  many ;  style  extremely 
short  with  two-lobed  stigma;  sepals  two; 
petals  four,  bright  yellow,  arranged  cross- 
wise, each  blossom  about  a  half-inch  broad. 
Pods  smooth,  one  to  two  inches,  long,  two- 
valved,  opening  at  the  base ;  seeds  smooth, 
shining,  dark  brown,  bearing  on  the  side 
a  white  crest  like  a  cock's  comb.  (Fig. 

andme  (Chelidomum  ma- 
ins').    X  \.  116.) 


Means  of  control 

Destroy  first-year  leaf -tufts  by  hoe-cutting;  prevent  seed  pro- 
duction in  the  second  year  by  cutting  the  flowering  stalks  while  in 
early  bloom. 

FIELD  POPPY 

Papaver  Rh&as,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Corn  Poppy,  Redweed,  Canker  Rose. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  June  to  August. 

Seed-time:  July  to  September. 

Range:   Semi-arid  lands  of  the  Southwest,  where  seed- wheat  from 


PAPAVERACEAE  (POPPY  FAMILY)  171 

southern  Europe  has  been  sown.     Occasional  elsewhere  but  not 
troublesome  as  a  weed. 
Habitat :    Grain  fields. 

This  is  the  pest  which  for  centuries  has  made  the  wheat  fields 
of  Europe  gorgeous  with  its  color,  and  it  is  strange  that  it  has  not 
made  greater  headway  in  this  country.  Its  seeds  are  most  tena- 
cious of  life  when  in  the  soil. 

Stems  one  to  three  feet  high,  slender, 
erect,  many-branched,  set  with  short, 
spreading  hairs.  The  whole  plant  is  filled 
with  bitter,  milky  juices.  Leaves  all  pin- 
natifid,  the  lobes  lance-shaped,  pointed, 
sharply  toothed,  the  lower  ones  petioled, 
the  upper  ones  smaller  and  sessile.  Buds 
nodding,  enclosed  in  two,  or  occasionally 
three,  hairy  sepals  that  fall  away  as  the 
flower  unfolds;  these  are  very  large,  two 
to  four  inches  broad ;  petals  four  to  six, 
broader  than  long,  of  thin  silken  texture, 
bright  scarlet  with  a  dark  blotch  at  the 
base ;  stamens  many.  Capsule  top-shaped, 
the  stigmatic  disk  at  its  apex  usually  ten- 
rayed,  and  with  as  many  cells  as  rays, 
filled  with  very  many  small,  brown  seeds. 
(Fig.  116.) 

Means  of  control  FIG.   117.  —  Field  Poppy 

(Papaver  Rhceas).     X  J. 
Sow  clean  seed.     Poppy  seed  is  so  very 

small  that  a  good  fanning  mill  should  be  able  to  remove  it 
completely  from  all  seeds  of  grass  and  grain.  If  the  area  infested 
is  not  too  great  to  make  the  task  impracticable,  hand-pull  the 
plants  when  the  first  bright  bloom  appears  and  burn  them. 
Let  none  mature  seed. 

LONG   SMOOTH-FRUITED   POPPY 
Papaver  dubium,  L. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seed. 
Time  of  bloom :   June  to  August. 


172  PAP  AVERAGE AE  (POPPY  FAMILY) 

Seed-time:  July  to  September. 

Range:    Southern  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  to  Virginia,  and  south- 
ward. 
Habitat:    Cultivated  ground  and  waste  places. 

Not  a  troublesome  weed  in  this  country,  but  called  Corn  Poppy  in 
Europe,  where  wheat  is  called  corn.  It  is  similar  to  the  preceding 
species  but  is  taller  and  more  slender,  with  pinnatifid  leaves  more 
finely  divided  and  very  hairy.  Flowers  two  inches  broad,  light 
scarlet,  on  long  and  very  bristly  petioles.  Capsule  tapering  from 
the  base,  smooth,  club-shaped,  the  stigmatic  cap  at  its  top  six-  to 
ten-rayed  and  smooth. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  Field  Poppy. 

PRICKLY   POPPY 
Argemone  mexicana,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Mexican  Poppy, 
Thistle  Poppy,  Devil's  Fig. 

Introduced.  Annual  or  biennial.  Propa- 
gates by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range :  New  Jersey,  Ohio,  and  the  Middle 
Western  States,  southward  to  Florida, 
Texas,  Arizona,  and  southern  California. 
Naturalized  throughout  the  Tropics  in 
Asia,  Australia,  the  South  Sea  Islands, 
and  Africa. 

Habitat:   Fields,  meadows,  waste  places. 

In  some  countries  this  plant  is  cultivated 
for  the  valuable  painter's  oil  expressed  from 
its  seeds,  but  in  many  parts  of  the  United 
States  it  is  a  very  troublesome  weed,  for, 
in  addition  to  its  exceeding  prickliness,  it 
is  protected  by  bitter,  yellow  juices,  said 
to  be  poisonous. 

Stem  one  to  two  feet  high,  stout,  simple 
or  with  few  branches,  usually  very  prickly 

but   sometimes   nearlv  or  quite  unarmed. 

^*v.     118.    —    Prickly    T  .   ,     *.      ,         ,  ,   ,     ,„ 

Poppy  (Argemone   mexi-   Leaves  four  to  eight  inches  long  and  halt 
cana).    x  i  as   wide,   glaucous,    blotched  with    white, 


CRUCIFERAE  (MUSTARD  FAMILY)  173 

sinuate-pinnatifid,  spiny-toothed  and  more  or  less  prickly  on 
midrib  and  larger  veins,  sessile  and  clasping.  Flowers  lemon- 
yellow  or  cream-colored,  two  or  three  inches  broad,  sessile  or 
on  very  short  peduncles ;  sepals  long  and  prickle-pointed ; 
stamens  many  with  filaments  a  half-inch  or  more  long.  Capsule 
an  inch  or  more  long,  ellipsoid,  prickly,  opening  by  three  to  six 
valves  at  the  top.  Seeds  small,  grayish  brown,  crested  on  one 
side.  (Fig.  118.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production.  Pull,  hoe-cut,  or  spud  out  autumn 
leaf -tufts ;  closely  and  frequently  cut  flowering  stalks  while  in 
early  bloom.  Cultivation  of  the  ground  destroys  the  weed  if  con- 
tinued for  a  sufficient  time  to  stir  all  dormant  seeds  into  growth. 

GRAY  BERTEROA 
Berterda  incana,  DC. 

Other  English  name:   Hoary  Alyssum. 

Introduced.     Annual  and  winter  annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range:  Maine  to  Michigan,  southward  to  New  Jersey  and  Missouri. 

Habitat:   Grain  and  clover  fields,  waste  places. 

This  weed  came  from  western  Europe  but  a  few  years  ago,  in  red 
clover  seed,  from  which  it  is  very  hard  to  remove.  Wherever 
established,  it  has  shown  itself  to  be  about  as  prolific  and  adaptive 
as  Field  Pepper  grass,  and  therefore  newly  entered  plants  should 
meet  with  prompt  and  severe  treatment.  (Fig.  119.) 

Stem  one  to  two  feet  tall,  slender,  with  numerous  slim  branches 
near  the  top,  gray-green  with  fine,  forking  hairs.  Basal  leaves 
three  or  four  inches  long,  spatulate,  usually  grouped  in  a  small 
rosette ;  stem-leaves  alternate,  lance-shaped,  sessile ;  all  have  entire 
edges.  Flowers  in  crowded  terminal  racemes,  and,  like  all  the 
Cruciferse,  have  six  stamens,  four  long  and  two  short;  four 
sepals,  four  petals,  arranged  in  cross-form  and  situated  below  the 
ovary ;  in  this  species  they  are  white,  minute,  the  petals  cleft  at 
the  tip.  Pods  elliptic  and  but  little  compressed  silicles,  gray-hairy 


174 


CRUCIFERAE  (MUSTARD  FAMILY) 


like  the  rest  of  the  plant,  about  a  quarter- 
inch  long,  divided  into  two  cells  by  a  trans- 
parent papery  partition,  which  remains  on 
the  thread-like  pedicel  after  the  seeds  have 
fallen  —  like  an  eyeglass  in  a  rim.  Each 
cell  contains  about  a  half-dozen  flattened 
brown  seeds. 

Means  of  control 

Sow  clean  seed.  Plants  newly  established 
in  clover  field  or  meadow  should  be  hand- 
pulled  or  cut  by  themselves  and  burned, 
for  their  seeds  not  only  will  foul  the  ground, 
but  also,  if  cured  with  the  hay,  will  be  made 
certain  of  further  distribution.  Their  hairy 
surface  makes  these  weeds  susceptible  to 
injury  from  sprays  such  as  Iron  or  Copper 
Sulfate  applied  when  buds  are  developing. 
Early  spring  and  late  autumn  cultivation 
will  destroy  the  seedlings  and  rosettes. 

PENNY   CRESS 

Thldspi  arvense,  L. 
FIG.  119.  —  Gray  Ber- 

teroa  (Berteroa  incana).       Other   English   names:     Frenchweed,    Stink- 
y  i  weed,    Stinking   Mustard,  Bastard   Cress, 

Wild  Garlic. 

Introduced.     Annual  and  winter  annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:    As  soon  as  snow  melts  in  spring,  beginning  on 
autumn  plants  already  budded ;    spring  seedlings  bloom   later 
and  continue  until  fall. 
Seed-time :  Autumn  plants  ripen  seed  in  early  July.     Spring  seedlings 

mature  fruit  in  August.     Both  continue  seeding  until  winter. 
Range :  Northern  and  Middle  Western  United  States ;  in  all  Cana- 
dian   provinces,   but    most    abundant    in    Manitoba    and    the 
Northwest  Territory. 
Habitat:   Grainfields,  meadows,  roadsides  and  waste  places. 

This  weed  is  perhaps  the  most  hated  enemy  of  the  western  farmer, 
and  is  considered  to  have  caused  greater  loss  than  any  other  in- 
truder in  the  grain  fields  of  Minnesota,  the  Dakotas,  and  western 


CRUCIFERAE  (MUSTARD  FAMILY) 


175 


Canada.  It  is  immensely  prolific  and  its  seeds  have  long  vitality. 
Cold  does  it  no  harm  and  chemical  sprays  that  kill  other 
Mustards  do  not  in  the  least  affect  it.  Other  crops  cannot  crowd 
it  out,  for  it  is  the  better  crowder,  seeding  in  dense  timothy  sod 
almost  as  readily  as  in  a  mellow  fallow.  Blooming  "from  snow 
to  snow"  and  constantly  developing  fruit, 
it  requires  and  absorbs  much  of  the  food 
and  moisture  in  the  soil,  starving  the  ac- 
companying crops  almost  to  worthless- 
ness.  T.  N.  Willing,  Chief  Weed  Inspector 
of  the  Northwest  Territory,  says,  "It 
will  pay  well  to  drop  all  other  work  and 
fight  this  weed  when  it  is  first  noticed." 
(Fig.  120.) 

Stem  six  inches  to  two  feet  tall,  smooth, 
bright  green,  often  simple  but  usually 
branching  at  the  top.  Root-leaves  long 
oval,  broadest  at  tip,  with  long  petioles; 
stem-leaves  lance-shaped  and  clasping 
with  a  pair  of  pointed  ears  at  the  base ; 
all  leaves  coarsely  toothed.  When  bruised, 
the  plant  exhales  a  most  disgusting  gar- 
licky odor;  if  it  is  eaten  by  milch  cows, 
the  dairy  products  are  spoiled.  Flowers 
clear  white,  very  small,  in  thick,  flat 
terminal  clusters ;  beginning  to  mature  at 
the  bottom  of  the  cluster,  they  leave  be- 
hind a  long  raceme  of  the  fruits,  standing 
out  on  slender,  wiry,  upcurved  pedicels 
about  as  long  as  themselves.  Silicles  flat, 
about  three-fourths  of  an  inch  across, 
pale  green  at  first,  broadly  winged  at  the 
sides,  notched  at  the  top,  two-celled,  the  division  being  across 
the  narrowest  part,  as  in  Shepherd's  Purse ;  each  side  contains 
two  to  eight  seeds.  As  the  pods  ripen  they  turn  to  a  rusty 
orange  color,  making  the  weed  very  conspicuous  when  grow- 
ing with  grain  or  clover.  Seeds  deep  reddish  brown,  flattened 
ovoid,  roughened  with  fine  curved  ridges  about  a  central  groove. 


FIG.    120.  —  Penny    Cress 
(Thlaspi  arvense).     X  i 


176  GRUCIFERAE  (MUSTARD  FAMILY) 

A  very  few  of  these  seeds  ground  by  accident  with  a  grist  of  wheat, 
ruins  the  flour,  and  grain  that  contains  them  is  very  sharply  cut 
in  price. 

Means  of  control 

Sow  clean  seed.  If  the  infestation  is  new,  hand-pull  and  destroy 
all  plants  before  any  fruits  mature,  even  though  the  task  be  very 
strenuous.  In  grain  fields,  if  seeds  have  been  allowed  to  ripen, 
burn  over  the  stubbles  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  those  that  have 
fallen  on  the  ground.  Give  surface  cultivation  in  order  to  encour- 
age germination  of  such  seeds  as  are  in  the  soil,  and  plow  the  young 
plants  under  while  still  in  the  rosette  stage  of  growth.  But  never 
turn  under  any  plants  bearing  developed  pods,  even  though  they 
may  be  green,  for  they  go  on  ripening  on  the  stalks,  when  under  the 
warm  soil,  quite  as  well  as  or  better  than  above  it.  Autumn- 
grown  plants  are  the  most  obnoxious,  since  they  come  earliest  into 
bloom  and  fruit  the  next  season,  and  every  effort  should  be  made  to 
kill  as  many  of  these  as  possible.  Spring  seedlings  may  be  dragged 
out  of  grain  fields  with  small-toothed  weeding  harrows,  beginning 
when  the  grain  is  only  about  three  inches  high  and  repeating  the 
operation  once  or  twice  afterwards  —  a  treatment  which  greatly 
benefits  the  crop  at  the  same  time  that  it  kills  the  weeds.  If 
practicable,  put  the  ground  to  a  cultivated  crop,  which  should  be 
given  very  thorough  tillage,  before  the  land  is  used  again  for  grain. 


COMMON   PEPPERGRASS 
Lepidium  virglnicum,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Tongue  Grass,  Bird's  Pepper. 

Native.     Annual  and  winter  annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   May  to  September. 

Seed-time:   Late  June  to  October. 

Range:    Nova  Scotia  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  Florida,  Texas, 

and  Mexico. 
Habitat:   Grain  and  clover  fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

Stem  six  inches  to  two  feet  tall,  much  branched.     The  weed 
sometimes  becomes  a  tumbleweed  because  of  this  spreading  growth. 


CRUCIFERAE  (MUSTARD  FAMILY) 


177 


Lower  leaves  pinnatifid,  spatulate  in  outline,  with  terminal  lobe 
large  and  lateral  lobes  very  small ;  stem-leaves  merely  toothed,  not 
lobed,  the  upper  ones  becoming  lance-shaped  and  often  entire. 
Flowers  white,  very  small,  on  elongating  racemes  that  are  finally 
six  or  eight  inches  in  length,  closely  set  with  small,  round,  flattened, 
two-celled  silicles,  notched  at  the  outer  edge  and  each  containing 
two  reddish  yellow  seeds.  Birds  are  very  fond  of  these  seeds  and 
dispose  of  large  quantities ;  they  are  a  common  impurity  among 
clover  seeds. 
Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Shepherd's  Purse.  (Fig.  121.) 


FIG.  121.  — Common  Pepper- 
grass  (Lepidium  mrginicum). 
Xi 


FIG.  122.  —  Green- 
flowered  Peppergrass 
(Lepidium  apetalwri). 
Xi 


178  CRUCIFERAE  (MUSTARD  FAMILY) 

GREEN-FLOWERED   PEPPERGRASS 

Lepldium  apetalum,  Willd. 

Introduced.     Annual  and  winter  annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  May  to  August. 
Seed-time:   June  to  September. 

Range:   Maine,  New  York,  and  Ontario,  to  the  Northwest  Terri- 
tory, California,  and  Texas. 
Habitat:   Grain  and  clover  fields,  waste  places. 

Similar  to  the  native  plant,  but  has  pinnatifid  root-leaves,  the 
stem-leaves  are  fewer  and  more  slender,  and  the  white  petals  of  the 
flowers  are  very  minute,  sometimes  entirely  lacking.  The  rounded 
and  notched  pods  have  a  minute  wing-margin  at  the  top,  slightly 
more  pronounced  than  in  the  preceding  species.  (Fig.  122.) 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Shepherd's  Purse. 

FIELD   PEPPERGRASS 
Lepldium  campestre,  R.  Br. 

Other  English  names:   Field  Cress,  Cow  Cress,  Poor  Man's  Pepper, 

Yellow  Seed,  Mithridate  Mustard. 

Introduced.     Annual  and  winter  annual.     Propagates  by  seed. 
Time  of  bloom :   April  to  July. 
Seed-time :   Late  May  to  August. 
Range:    New  Brunswick  and  Ontario  to  Michigan,  southward  to 

Virginia  and  the  Middle  Western  States ;    also  on  the  Pacific 

Coast. 
Habitat:    Grain  and  clover  fields,  meadows,  roadsides,  and  waste 

places. 

A  weed  whose  range  is  rapidly  widening,  mostly  by  the  agencies 
of  impure  grass  and  clover  seed.  Stem  ten  to  eighteen  inches  tall, 
erect,  branching  at  the  top,  gray-green  with  fine,  downy  hair. 
Root-leaves  tufted,  spatulate,  two  to  four  inches  long,  tapering  to 
petioles ;  stem-leaves  arrow-shaped,  slightly  toothed,  sessile  and 
clasping  the  stem  with  an  auricled  base;  all  leaves  softly  downy. 
Flowers  white,  the  petals  so  small  as  to  be  hardly  noticeable. 
Silicles  ovate,  rough,  concave  above,  convex  below,  winged  and 
notched  at  the  tip,  the  style  protruding  from  the  notch.  Seeds 
reddish  yellow,  very  pungent  to  the  taste. 


CRUCIFERAE  (MUSTARD  FAMILY) 


179 


Means  of  control 

Infested  grain  fields  and  meadows  should  be  sprayed  with  Iron 
sulfate  or  Copper  sulfate  before  the  first  flowers  mature.  Stubbles 
should  be  cultivated  after  harvest  in  order  to  destroy  autumn 
seedlings. 

SWINE   CRESS 

Cordnopus  didymus,  Sm. 
(Senebiera  didyma,  Pers.) 

Other  English  names :   Lesser  Wart  Cress,  Carpet  Cress. 
Introduced.     Annual  or  biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   March  to  June. 
Seed-time:   Early  May  to  August. 

Range:    Newfoundland  to  Florida  and  Texas,  westward  to  Cali- 
fornia. 
Habitat:   Yards,  roadsides,  waste  places. 


Grazing  cattle  usually  avoid  plants  with  a  disagreeable  odor,  but 
they  seem  to  make  an  exception  of  the  Mustards.  The  smell  of 
this  weed  is  suggestive  of  a  pigsty, 
whence  its  name  of  Swine  Cress ;  it 
is  occasionally  the  cause  of  damaged 
dairy  products.  (Fig.  123.) 

Stems  four  inches  to  a  foot  in 
length,  prostrate,  diffusely  branched, 
hairy,  spreading  on  all  sides  from 
the  root.  Leaves  very  deeply  pin- 
natifid,  some  but  once,  others  with 
the  segments  also  cut ;  upper  ones 
sessile  but  those  near  the  base  having 
slender  petioles.  Flowers  white,  ex- 
tremely small,  in  slender  axillary 
racemes  on  short,  threadlike  pedicels. 
Autumn  plants  flower  earliest,  com- 
ing into  bloom  as  soon  as  uncovered 
from  winter  snows.  Silicles  small, 
valves  separating  readily  into  two 
taining  one  seed. 


FIG.  123.  —  Swine  Cress  (Corona- 
pus  didymus).     X  i- 

wrinkled,   warty,  the   two 
ovoid    nutlets,   each    con- 


180 


CRVCIFERAE  (MUSTARD  FAMILY) 


Means  of  control 

Carpet  Cress  usually  grows  in  patches,  which  should  be  hoed  out 
very  early  in  spring  before  any  seeds  are  developed.  Successive 
crops  will  probably  appear  from  seeds  that  have  lain  dormant  in  the 
soil,  and  these  should  be  given  like  treatment. 


SHEPHERD'S  PURSE 
Capsella  Bursa-pastdris,  Medic. 

Other  English  names:  Caseweed,  St.  James'  Weed,  Mothers'  Hearts. 
Introduced.     Annual  and  winter  annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
LTime  of  bloom:    March  to  November  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
country.     All  the  year  round  where  not  covered  with  snow  for 
autumn  seedlings  bloom  in  winter  if  not  checked  by  cold  and  spring 
seedlings  take  up  the  succession  in  summer. 

Seed-time  :  April  to  December. 

Range:  All  cultivated  regions  of  the  world. 

Habitat  :   Any  soil  ;   invades  any  crop. 

With  the  exception  of  Chickweed,  this  is 
probably  the  commonest  weed  on  earth.  But 
usually  it  is  not  regarded  with  so  much  hos- 
tility as  are  some  other  plants  that  really  do  less 
harm.  It  is  very  prolific  and  the  seeds  have 
long  vitality  ;  it  absorbs  much  fertility  from  the 
soil  ;  and  it  often  harbors  the  club-root  fungous 
disease  so  ruinous  to  cabbage,  cauliflower,  tur- 
nips, and  radishes,  and  will  infect  soil  where 
those  plants  may  be  cultivated.  (Fig.  124.) 

The  plant  is  extremely  variable,  but  ordi- 
narily it  has  a  rather  deep  taproot  with  many 
slender  rootlets,  and  the  stem  is  slender  and 
branching,  six  to  twenty  inches  high.  Base 
leaves  usually  pinnatifid  and  tufted  in  a  ro- 
sette, though  late  spring  seedlings  often  send 
up  a  fruiting  stalk  directly  from  the  root,  with- 
out the  tuft  of  lower  leaves  ;  upper  leaves  lance- 

shaped  and  clasping,  with  small,  pointed  auricles 

£  „,  6,  .  .        . 

sell  a  Bursa-pa's-    at  base.     Flowers  white,  minute,  terminating  a 

toris)  .    x  J.  lengthening  raceme  of  triangular,  flattened,  heart- 


i       , 

herd's  Purse  (Cap- 


CRUCIFERAE  (MUSTARD  FAMILY)  181 

shaped  silicles,  on  fine,  wire-like  pedicels;  each  "Mother's  heart" 
is  partitioned  across  its  narrow  thickness  and  each  cell  contains 
about  ten  reddish  brown  seeds,  a  thrifty  plant  of  average  size 
producing  about  two  thousand. 

Means  of  control 

In  cultivated  ground  the  weed  succumbs  to  the  constant  tillage 
required,  but  such  plants  as  spring  up  after  the  cultivator  has 
ceased  its  rounds  should  be  cut  or  pulled  and  should  not  be  allowed 
to  seed  the  ground.  Autumn  rosettes  should  be  hoe-cut  in  spring. 
In  meadows  and  grain  fields  the  weed  may  be  killed  while  young 
with  a  spray  of  Iron  sulfate  or  Copper 
sulfate. 

FALSE  FLAX 

Camelina  sativa,  Crantz 

Other  English  names :  Wild  Flax,  Gold 
of  Pleasure. 

Introduced.  Annual  and  winter  an- 
nual. Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  June  to  August. 

Seed-time:  July  to  September. 

Range:  Ontario  to  Manitoba,  south- 
ward to  Ohio,  Iowa,  and  South 
Dakota. 

Habitat :  Flax  and  grain  fields,  clover ; 
waste  places. 

In  Europe  this  plant  is  cultivated 
for  the  fine  oil  in  its  seeds  and  for 
mucilage,  both  of  which  are  similar 
to  the  products  obtained  from  flax 
seed.  It  was  formerly  believed  that 
this  plant  was  changed  or  degenerate 
flax,  like  Chess  in  wheat,  and  early 
writers  spoke  of  it  as  Pseudo  Linum, 
or  False  Flax.  (Fig.  125.) 

Stem  eighteen  inches  to  three  feet 
tall,  erect,  slender,  smooth,  branching   FIG.   125.  — False   Flax    (Ca- 
near    the    top.      Lower  leaves  lance-          melina  sativa).    x  i. 


182  CRUCIFERAE  (MUSTARD  FAMILY) 

shaped,  the  base  narrowing  to  a  petiole,  entire  or  very  slightly  toothed, 
somewhat  hairy,  especially  those  that  form  the  rosettes  of  autumn 
plants  ;  upper  leaves  smooth,  arrow-shaped,  clasping  the  stem  by  an 
auricled  base.  Flowers  yellow,  very  small,  in  racemose  clusters,  the 
pedicels  at  first  fine  and  threadlike  but  lengthening  and  becoming 
wiry  as  the  pods  mature.  The  latter  are  pear-shaped,  two-celled 
silicles  and  resemble  a  flax  boll,  though  they  are  not  quite  so  large ; 
slightly  flattened,  with  a  marginal  ridge,  and  tipped  with  the  per- 
sistent style  which  splits  with  the  pod.  Seeds  brownish  yellow, 
about  ten  to  each  pod.  In  the  company  of  this  plant  is  often 
found  the  Small-Fruited  False  Flax  (Camelina 
microcdrpa,  Andrz.),  smaller  and  more  slender, 
with  pods  not  much  more  than  half  as  large  but 
the  plant  is  said  to  be  even  more  prolific  than 
the  commoner  weed. 

Means  of  control  similar  to  those  given  for 
Hare's-ear  and  Indian  Mustard,  the  smooth  foli- 
age not  being  susceptible  to  injury  from  spray. 

BALL  MUSTARD 
Neslia  paniculata,  Desv. 
Introduced.    Annual  or  biennial.    Propagates  by 


Time  of  bloom :   June  to  September. 
Seed-time:   July  to  October. 
Range:   Ontario,  Manitoba,  and  British  Colum- 
bia, Minnesota  and  the  Dakotas. 
Habitat:   Grain  fields  and  waste  places. 

Stem  one  to  two  feet  tall,  slender,  usually  sim- 
ple to  the  flowering  stalk,  finely  roughened  with 
forking  hairs.  Basal  leaves  oblong  to  lance- 
shaped,  tapering  to  a  slim  petiole ;  those  on  the 
stem  arrow-shaped,  long-pointed,  clasping  the 
stem  with  auricled  base;  all  clothed  with  fine, 
branching  hairs.  Flowers  in  a  terminal  panicle, 

_  .    containing  several  slender  racemes  tipped  with 

Mustard     (Neslia    small    clusters   of   orange-colored   blossoms,  not 
paniculate),     x  ?.    more  than  an  eighth  of  an  inch  across ;  maturing, 


CRUCIFERAE  (MUSTARD  FAMILY)  183 

the  flowers  leave  behind  a  string  of  bead-like  silicles  of  lesser 
diameter ;  as  they  ripen  the  tiny  balls  become  netted  and  pitted, 
growing  smaller  yet,  until  it  would  take  a  dozen  to  measure 
an  inch.  Each  ball  contains  one  small,  yellow  seed,  which  does 
not  "shell"  but  drops  from  the  plant,  pod  and  all,  looking  like 
a  speck  of  dry,  brown  earth ;  the  seeds  are  a  common  impurity  of 
poorly  cleaned  grain  and  are  overlooked  and  mistaken  for  harmless 
dirt  in  seed  wheat  and  oats.  (Fig.  126.) 
Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Field  Peppergrass. 

WILD    RADISH 

Rdphanus  Raphanistrum,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Jointed  Charlock, 
White  Charlock. 

Introduced.  Annual  or  biennial.  Propa- 
gates by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range:  New  Brunswick  to  Ontario,  south- 
ward to  Rhode  Island,  Pennsylvania  and 
Ohio.  Also  in  British  Columbia. 

Habitat:   Fields  and  waste  places. 

Root  slender,  not  swollen  and  fleshy  like 
the  garden  radish.  Stem  fifteen  to  thirty 
inches  tall,  erect,  branching,  sparsely  set 
with  fine  stiff  hairs,  or  often  entirely  smooth. 
Basal  and  root  leaves  deeply  pinnatifid,  with 
terminal  lobe  large,  and  four  to  six  pairs  of 
lateral  lobes,  decreasing  in  size  toward  the 
•petiole,  which  is  short;  upper  leaves  small 
and  oblong,  but  all  are  toothed  and  scalloped. 
Flowers  about  a  half-inch  broad  or  some- 
times larger,  the  four  spreading  petals  pale 
yellow  with  purple  veins,  fading  to  white  as 
they  wither;  calyx-lobes  drawn  close  to- 
gether, instead  of  spreading  like  those  of 
Wild  Mustard.  Pods  indehiscent  siliques  „ 

...  •  11  Jc  IG.       ±Z  /.     Wild 

one  to  two  inches  long,  constricted  between   Radish  (Raphanus  Ra- 
the  seeds,   faintly   grooved   lengthwise    but   phanistrum) .    x  J. 


184  CEUCIFERAE  (MUSTARD   FAMILY) 

without  partitions,  being  stuffed  with  a  spongy  substance  be- 
tween the  seeds,  which  are  larger  than  Mustard  seed  and  brown. 
Because  its  rather  thick-textured  leaves  are  so  nearly  smooth,  this 
weed  is  more  resistant  to  injury  from  sprays  than  other  wild 
Mustards  and  it  must  be  fought  in  other  ways.  (Fig.  127.) 

Means  of  control 

Cut  the  tufted  leaves  of  autumn  plants  from  their  roots  with  hoe 
or  spud,  the  latter  tool  being  preferable  in  grain  fields.  Spring  seed- 
lings may  be  raked  from  the  fields  with  a  weeding  harrow  when  the 
grain  is  but  a  few  inches  tall.  Plants  that  spud,  hoe,  and  harrow 
have  missed,  should  be  hand-pulled  in  their  first  bloom  rather  than 
be  allowed  to  foul  the  ground  with  their  long-lived  seeds.  Where 
seed  has  entered  the  soil,  give  stubbles  surface  cultivation  after 
harvest,  in  order  to  stimulate  germination,  and  then  disk  the  ground 
about  once  in  two  weeks,  so  as  to  kill  the  weeds  while  they  are 
tender. 

CHARLOCK   OR   WILD   MUSTARD 

Brdssica  arvensis,  Ktze. 
(Brdssica  sinapistrum,  Boiss) 

Other  English  names:   Kedluek,  Skellick,  Herrick,  Field  Kale. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   May  to  September. 

Seed-time:  June  to  October. 

Range:   Throughout  North  America  except  the  extreme  North. 

Habitat:   Grain  and  clover  fields,  meadows,  waste  places. 

A  very  noxious  weed  because  of  its  immense  productiveness  — 
more  than  fifteen  thousand  seeds  having  been  taken  from  a  single 
thrifty  plant  —  and  also  because  of  the  exceedingly  long  vitality  of 
the  seed  when  in  the  soil. 

Stem  one  to  three  feet  tall,  erect,  branching  toward  the  top, 
roughened  with  short,  stiff  hairs.  Lower  leaves  pinnatifid,  with 
the  terminal  lobe  large,  and  the  few  lateral  lobes  small,  the  petioles 
rather  stout  and  short ;  upper  leaves  narrowly  rhombic,  sessile  or 
nearly  so ;  all  irregularly  toothed  and  somewhat  hairy ;  small 
blotches  of  brownish  red  show  on  the  stem  at  the  junction  with  the 
leaves.  Flowers  in  racemose  clusters  at  the  ends  of  stem  and 


CBUCIFERAE  (MUSTARD  FAMILY}  185 

branches,  bright  yellow,  fragrant,  each  about  a  half-inch  broad, 

the  calyx-lobes  spreading ;  they  begin  to  open  at  the  bottom  of  the 

cluster,  which  lengthens  as  the  season  advances  and  the  pods  form 

and  ripen,  so  that  there  may  be  emptied  pods  below  and  forming 

buds  above.     Silique,  or  pod,  one  to  two  inches 

long,  round  and  somewhat  constricted  between 

the  seeds,  veined  and  ribbed,  and  tipped  with- 

a  long,  two-edged  beak ;  it  may  contain  three 

or  four  to  a  dozen  or  more  seeds,  one  of  which 

is  usually  sticking  in  the  beak  when  the  pod 

splits.     Seeds  globular,  dark  reddish  brown, 

under    a    lens    seen   to  be    delicately   pitted. 

They  are  a   common  impurity  of  grass  and 

clover  seeds.     (Fig.  128.) 

Means  of  control 

In  grain  fields  seedlings  should  be  harrowed 
out,  with  one  of  the  light  harrows  known  as 
weeders,  when  the  grain  is  but  a  few  inches 
tall ;  or  later,  but  before  the  grain  begins  to 
head,  the  Mustard  may  be  almost  entirely 
destroyed  by  the  use  of  Iron  sulfate  or 
Copper  sulfate  spray.  Stubbles  should  be 
surface-cultivated  immediately  after  harvest 
in  order  to  stir  into  growth  such  seeds  as 
may  be  lying  on  the  ground;  the  young 
plants  to  be  plowed  under,  or  they  may 
be  profitably  grazed  off  by  sheep.  Plants  of 
waste  places,  fence  rows,  and  roadside  should 
be  hand-pulled  or  closely  cut  when  the  flowers  FlQ  12g  char- 
are  first  noticed.  lock  (Brassica  aroen- 

sis),     Xi- 

INDIAN   MUSTARD 
Brdssica  juncea,  Cosson 

Introduced.     Annual  or  biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   May  to  July. 

Seed-time:   June  to  August. 

Range:   Ontario  to  Manitoba,  southward  to  Georgia  and  Kansas. 

Habitat:    Grain  fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 


186 


CRUCIFERAE  (MUSTARD  FAMILY) 


A  special  pest  in  grain  fields,  as  its  early  season  of  bloom  enables 
it  to  foul  the  ground  with  its  seeds  before  the  grain  is  ready  to 
harvest  and  the  smooth,  glaucous  foliage  renders  it  impervious  to 
injury  from  sprays  that  would  not  also  kill  the  accompanying  crop. 
Stem  one  to  four  feet  tall,  erect,  rather 

•  stout,   with    few    branches.      Lower    leaves 

•  pinnatifid,   with    terminal    lobe   very  large, 
coarsely   toothed,   and  with    long  petioles ; 
upper  leaves  oblong,  nearly  entire,  tapering 
to   the   base,  all   light  green,   rather  thick, 
smooth,  and  glaucous.  Flowers  bright  yellow, 
more   than  a  half-inch   broad,  clustered   at 
the  top  of  racemes,  which,  before  the  pods 
are  all   formed,   often    become    more    than 
a  foot   long.      Siliques   one   to   two  inches 
long,  nearly  a  third  of  their  length   taken 
by  a  slim,  awl-shaped,  empty  beak.     Seeds 

.    globular  and  brown.     (Fig.  129.) 

Means  of  control 

Harrow  young  seedlings  from  grain  fields 
with  a  weeding  harrow.  Plants  that  survive 
the  treatment  should  be  hand-pulled  while 
in  early  bloom.  If  seeds  have  matured  and 
fallen,  stubbles  should  be  burned  over  for 
the  purpose  of  destroying  them.  Plants  of 
roadsides  and  waste  places  should  also  be 
pulled  or  cut  before  seed  is  formed. 


FIG.  129.  —  Indian 
Mustard  (Brassica 
juncea).  X  i- 


WHITE    MUSTARD 

Brassica  alba,  Boiss 
(Sinapis  dlba,  L.) 


Introduced.     Annual  or  biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  August. 

Seed-time:  July  to  September. 

Range:    Locally  in  most  parts  of  North  America  except  the  far 

North. 
Habitat:   Cultivated  ground,  waste  places. 


CRUCIFEBAE  (MUSTARD  FAMILY) 


187 


As  a  weed,  this  plant  is  usually  the  sur- 
vival of  dormant  seeds  from  former  culti- 
vation, or  an  escape,  though  its  seeds  are 
occasionally  found  with  those  of  other 
plants. 

Stems  one  to  two  feet  high,  branching, 
covered  with  stiff,  spreading  hairs.  Lower 
leaves  with  slender  petioles,  deeply  pin- 
natifid,  the  terminal  lobe  very  large,  the 
lateral  lobes  small  and  narrow,  all  toothed 
and  rough-hairy  ;  upper  leaves  less  divided, 
with  shorter  petioles  or  the  topmost  ones 
sessile.  Flowers  yellow,  more  than  a  half- 
inch  broad,  the  sepals  spreading  and  much 
shorter  than  the  petals.  Siliques  round 
and  very  bristly,  the  beak  often  longer 
than  the  part  containing  the  seeds.  Seeds 
light  yellow,  smooth,  larger  than  those  of 
Black  Mustard,  milder  in  flavor.  (Fig. 
130.) 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Char- 
lock and  Black  Mustard. 

BLACK   MUSTARD 

Brdssica  nlgra,  Koch. 
(Sinapis  nlgra,  L.) 


FIG.  130.  —  White  Mus- 
tard (Brassica  alba) ,    X  J. 


Introduced.     Annual  or  biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  September. 

Seed-time:  July  to  November. 

Range:    In  most  parts  of  the  American  Continent  except  the  far 

North ;    most  abundant  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 
Habitat :   Fields  and  waste  places. 


Mustard  seeds,  both  the  Black  and  the  White,  are  used  in  making 
a  popular  condiment,  also  in  medicine,  and  to  express  a  fine,  clear 
oil  which  has  little  or  none  of  the  sharp  flavor  of  Mustard.  The 
United  States  imports  these  seeds  to  the  amount  of  over  five  million 
pounds  annually,  at  a  cost  of  three  to  six  cents  a  pound. 


188 


CRUCIFERAE  (MUSTARD  FAMILY) 


Stems  two  to  seven  feet  tall,  or  even 
more  in  warm  southern  soil,  branching 
widely,  sometimes  hairy  near  the  base 
but  usually  smooth  above.  Lower  leaves 
pinnatifid,  with  the  terminal  lobe  very 
large  and  the  several  lateral  lobes  small, 
toothed  all  around,  with  a  long,  slim 
petiole ;  upper  leaves  less  divided,  becom- 
ing lance-shaped  and  nearly  sessile  at  the 
top.  Flowers  bright  yellow,  a  little  more 
than  a  quarter-inch  broad.  This  plant 
is  often  confused  with  Charlock,  or  Wild 
Mustard,  but  the  difference  between  the 
fruits  readily  distinguishes  them :  Char- 
lock has  long,  knotted  or  wavy  pods,  with 
stout,  two-edged  beaks,  while  Black  Mus- 
tard has  short,  smooth,  four-angled  pods, 
a  half -inch  to  an  inch  long,  with  short, 
slim  beaks ;  and  they  are  held  closely 
pressed  to  the  stalk,  making  the  raceme 
veryslender.  Seeds  globular.almostblack, 
very  pungent  to  the  taste.  (Fig.  131.) 
Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Charlock. 


SAND   ROCKET 
Diplotdxis  muralis,  DC. 

Introduced.     Annual  or  biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  August. 

Seed-time:  July  to  September. 

Range :  Nova  Scotia  to  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania,  westward  to 

Michigan. 
Habitat:   Fields  and  waste  places. 

Not  a  common  weed  in  this  country  as  yet,  but  Professor  Beal 
reports  that  wherever  found  in  Michigan,  it  "  thrives  and  spreads  at 
an  alarming  pace." 

Stem  one  to  two  feet  high,  smooth  or  sparsely  set  with  bristly 
hairs,  branching  from  the  base,  leafy  only  below.  Leaves  oblong  to 


CRUCIFERAE  (MUSTARD  FAMILY) 


189 


lance-shaped  in  outline  but  deeply 
and  irregularly  toothed  or  some- 
what pinnatifid,  narrowing  to  peti- 
oles. Flowers  in  terminal  racemes, 
each  about  a  half-inch  broad, 
golden  yellow.  Siliques  about  an 
inch  long,  linear,  somewhat  flat- 
tened and  almost  beakless,  erect, 
on  very  slender  spreading  pedicels ; 
the  two  cells  of  the  pod  each  con- 
tain a  double  row  of  small  reddish 
brown,  slightly  flattened  seeds. 
(Fig.  132.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production  by  close 
cutting  or  pulling  before  the  first 
flowers  mature. 


HARE'S-EAR   MUSTARD 

Conringia  orientalis,  Dumort. 

Other  English  names :  Rabbit-ears, 
Hare's-ear  Cabbage,  Klinkweed. 

Introduced.     Annual  and  winter 
annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   Late  June  to  Sep- 
tember. 

Seed-time:  August  to  October. 

Range:     Ontario    and    Manitoba,    Minnesota    and    the    Dakotas. 
Appearing  locally  in  other  states  and  provinces. 

Habitat :   Grain  and  flax  fields ;   waste  places  and  along  railways. 

Brought  to  this  country  in  flax  seed  from  Europe  about  1892, 
this  weed  has  since  spread  through  all  the  grain-growing  section  of 
the  Northwest  and  bids  fair  to  be  still  more  widely  known.  Autumn 
plants  send  down  a  main  root  with  many  branching  rootlets,  and 
form  a  tuft  of  thick,  smooth  leaves,  three  to  six  inches  long,  broadly 
oval,  rounded  at  tip  and  tapering  toward  the  base,  the  edges  entire, 
and  the  surface  covered  with  a  bloom  like  a  cabbage ;  in  fact  the 


FIG.  132.  —  Sand  Rocket  (Diplotaxis 
muralis).      X  J. 


190  CSUCIFERAE  (MUSTARD  FAMILY) 

young  plants  resemble  cabbage.  In  the  second  season  the 
fruiting  stalk  appears,  one  to  four  feet  tall,  slender  but 
stiff  and  erect,  becoming  hard  as  wire  when  mature;  stem 
leaves  oblong,  rather  thick,  also  smooth  and 
glaucous,  shaped  like  a  rabbit's  ears  and  clasping 
the  stem  by  two  rounded  auricles  at  the  base. 
These  succulent  leaves,  particularly  on  young 
autumn  plants,  are  crisp  and  tender  and  make 
good  salad  and  greens ;  they  absorb  most  of  the 
food  and  moisture  of  the  soil,  and  the  accom- 
panying crop  does  not  usually  amount  to  much 
where  the  weed  is  very  plentiful.  Flowers  cream- 
white  and  only  about  a  quarter-inch  broad.  But 
the  pods  that  follow  on  the  elongating  stalk  are 
about  four  inches  long  when  mature,  slim,  smooth, 
and  square,  each  one  containing  about  fifty  brown 
seeds,  rounded  oblong  in  shape,  very  mucilaginous 
when  wet,  which  causes  them  to  stick  to  the  feet 
of  animals,  to  a  boot-sole,  or  to  a  wagon  wheel, 
and  helps  in  their  distribution.  (Fig.  133.) 

Means  of  control 

Sow  clean  seed.  If  the  infestation  is  new,  hoe  or 
spud  out  every  autumn  plant  and  hand-pull  every 
flowering  stalk  in  its  first  bloom ;  and  if  pods  have 
formed,  burn  them,  lest  they  ripen  on  the  stalks. 
The  smooth,  waxy  surface  of  the  plant  sheds 
all  liquids  like  a  duck's  back  and  sprays  cannot 
Harems  ear  M  ~&-  ^arm  ^-  Drag  out  spring  seedlings  with  a  weed- 
tard  (Conringia  mg  harrow  and  disk  off  the  autumn  plants.  In 
orientalis).  x  i  every  case  prevent  seeding  if  possible. 

GARLIC   MUSTARD 

Alliaria  officinalis,  Andrz. 

Other   English   names:     Hedge   Garlic,   Jaek-by-the-hedge,   Sauce- 
alone. 
Introduced.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 


CEUCIFERAE  (MUSTARD  FAMILY) 


191 


Time  of  bloom:   May  to  June. 

Seed-time:  July  to  August. 

Range:    Ontario  to  Ohio,  southward  to  Virginia. 

Habitat:   Roadsides,  waste  places,  and  about  farmyards. 

In  Europe  the  leaves  of  this  plant  are 
sometimes  used  for  flavoring  food  in  place 
of  garlic,  which  they  resemble  in  odor.  In 
this  country  the  plant  occasionally  flavors 
milk  and  butter  through  being  eaten  by 
milch  cows. 

Stem  one  to  three  feet  high,  rather  stout, 
smooth,  erect,  and  branching.  Leaves 
broadly  oval  or  heart-shaped,  sometimes 
nearly  round,  coarsely  toothed,  smooth  or 
with  a  slight  hairiness  on  midvein  and 
margins,  the  lower  ones  six  or  more  inches 
broad  with  long  petioles,  the  upper  ones 
smaller  and  short-stalked.  Flowers  in  short 
racemose  clusters,  white,  nearly  a  half-inch 
broad.  Siliques  one  to  two  inches  long, 
stiff  and  four-angled,  slender,  with  valves 
keeled  and  three-nerved.  Seeds  brown, 
oblong,  and  ridged,  one  row  in  each  cell. 
(Fig.  134.) 

Means  of  control 

Deep  cutting  of  autumn  leaf-tufts  from 
the  roots  with  hoe  or  spud ;  cutting  or 
hand-pulling  the  fruiting  stalks  before  the 
first  flowers  mature. 

HEDGE  MUSTARD 

Sisymbrium  officinale,  Scop. 

Introduced.     Annual  or  biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  May  to  November. 

Seed-time:   July  to  December. 

Range:   Throughout  North  America  except  the  extreme  North. 

Habitat :   Fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 


FIG.  134.  —  Garlic 
Mustard  (Alliaria  offici- 
nalis).  X  i- 


192 


CRUCIFERAE  (MUSTARD  FAMILY) 


Common  everywhere ;  a  frequent  tenant  of  vacant  city  lots  ;  it  is 
detested  by  the  truck  gardener  because  it  harbors  the  club-root 
fungus  so  injurious  to  cabbage  and  turnips,  and  may  have  fouled 
the  soil  with  the  disease  where  those  plants  have  never  been  cul- 
tivated. 

Stems  six  inches  to  three  feet  tall,  erect,  slender,  with  branches 
spread  rigidly  at  wide  angles.  Leaves  deeply  cut  and  lobed,  with 
the  lower  segments  usually  turned 
backward.  Flowers  yellow,  about. an 
eighth  of  an  inch  broad,  in  small, 
flat  clusters  at  summit  of  stem  and 
branches,  above  lengthening  rows  of 
pods.  These  are  small,  round, 
slightly  hairy,  pointed,  about  a  half- 
inch  long,  held  erect  and  closely 
pressed  to  the  stalk.  When  old  both 
stems  and  pods  often  turn  to  a  dirty 
purple,  making  the  plant  look  still 
more  weedy  and  unpleasant.  (Fig. 
135.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production.  Destroy 
autumn  plants  by  hoe-cutting  before 
fruiting  stalks  appear.  Hand-pulling 
while  in  first  bloom  is  a  paying  oper- 
ation, as  the  plant  is  a  gross  feeder 
FIG.  135.  —  Hedge  Mustard  during  the  long  season  of  seed  de- 

(Sisymbrium  officinale).     X  %.       velopment. 


TUMBLING   MUSTARD 
Sisymbrium  altissimum,  L. 

Introduced.     Annual  or  winter  annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   June  to  July. 

Seed-time:    First   seed  ripe  in  July.     Plants  dry  and  ready  for 

tumbling  in  September. 
Range :  All  states  of  the  Middle  West  as  far  south  as  Missouri  and 


CRUCIFERAE  (MUSTARD  FAMILY) 


193 


Kansas,  northwestward  to  Washington ;   all  the  Canadian  prov- 
inces from  Quebec  to  Vancouver  Island. 
Habitat:   Grain  fields  and  grasslands,  waste  places. 

A  native  of  Central  Europe  brought  to  this  country  in  impure 
commercial  seeds  ;  by  this  agency  it  still  travels,  and  no  doubt  jour- 
neys farther  in  this  way  than  when  wind-driven  about  the  country. 

Stem  two  to  four  feet  high,  slender,  smooth,  and  exceedingly 
branched  and  bushy.  Leaves 
deeply  pinnatifid,  the  segments 
nearly  linear,  toothed  or  entire, 
the  upper  ones  reduced  to 
thread-like  thinness ;  when  the 
plant  ia  young  the  lower  leaves 
are  downy  and  the  basal  ones  lie 
on  th^  ground  in  rosette  form, 
but  these  wither  away  and  the 
later  leaves  are  smooth.  Flowers 
pale  yellow,  about  a  third  of  an 
inch  across,  on  elongating  ra- 
cemes that  leave  behind  alter- 
nating rows  of  stiff,  diverging, 
needle-like  pods,  two  to  four 
inches  long  but  hardly  thicker 
than  their  short  pedicels.  Each 
pod  usually  contains  more  than 
a  hundred  seeds  —  the  fecundity 

of  the  weed  is  almost  incredible. 

i^T,  ,,  ,  FIG.  136.  —  Tumbling  Mustard  (Sisym- 

When  mature  the  stems  become  ^^  aUissimum^    x  i. 

very  brittle,  breaking  away  at 

the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  the  plants  are  afterward  the  sport 
of  the  winds;  on  the  prairies  they  often  roll  for  miles,  but  in 
fenced  and  uneven  ground  they  are  battered  to  and  fro,  seeding 
the  soil  the  more  thickly  for  such  restriction.  (Fig.  136.) 

Means  of  control 

Sow  clean  seed.  Harrow  seedlings  out  of  grain  fields  in  the  spring. 
Harvest  infested  meadows  before  the  first  seeds  ripen.  Burn  over 


194 


CRUCIFERAE  (MUSTARD  FAMILY) 


stubbles  for  the  purpose  of  killing  the  seeds  on  the  ground.  The 
plant  gives  no  trouble  in  cultivated  ground,  for  there  the  stroke  of  a 
hoe  destroys  it  when  young.  The  smooth  foliage  is  unharmed  by 
sprays. 

GREEN   TANSY   MUSTARD 

Sisymbrium  incksum,  Engelm. 
Var.  filipes,  Gray 

Native.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   Late  June  to  July. 

Seed-time:   July  to  August. 

Range:   Ontario  and  Manitoba,  Minnesota  and  the  Dakotas. 

Habitat:   Grain  fields  and  waste  places. 

Root-leaves  tufted,  forming  a  graceful  rosette,  deeply  pinnatifid, 
the  segments  again  cut  and  toothed,  peti- 
oled,  deep  green,  slightly  glandular,  hairy. 
Stem  leaves  also  all  pinnatifid,  but  smaller, 
more  finely  divided,  and  with  short  peti- 
oles. Stem  two  to  four  feet  tall,  erect, 
branching,  and  finely  hairy.  Flowers  bright 
yellow,  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  broad,  in 
elongated  racemes ;  pods  smooth,  narrow, 
slightly  curved,  a  little  more  than  a  half- 
inch  long,  on  slender,  spreading  pedicels. 
Seeds  very  small,  reddish  brown,  minutely 
roughened,  very  mucilaginous  when  wet, 
which  is  an  aid  to  their  distribution. 
(Fig.  137.) 

Another  nearly  related  plant  with  nearly 
the  same  range  is  the  Gray  Tansy  Mustard 
(S.  indsum,  var.  Harticegianum,  Watson), 
differing  in  that  its  much  divided  foliage  is 
densely  covered  with  soft,  gray,  appressed 
hairs.  The  Gray  Tansy  Mustard  is  later  in 
flowering  and  in  seed  development,  the 
pods  being  but  a  quarter-inch  long,  held 
nearly  erect  on  short,  ascending  pedicels, 
making  the  racemes  very  slender. 


FIG.  137.  —  Green 
Tansy  Mustard  (Sisym- 
brium incisum,  var.  fili- 
pes).  X I 


CRUCIFERAE  (MUSTARD  FAMILY) 


195 


Means  of  control 

Harrow  autumn  rosettes  from  the  crop  in  the  spring,  when  the 
grain  is  but  a  few  inches  tall.  Spray  the  young  flowering  stalks 
with  Iron  sulfate  or  Copper  sulfate  at  the  appearance  of  the  first 
yellow  blossoms.  Destroy  waste-land  plants  by  deep  cutting  or 
hand-pulling. 

WORMSEED   OR   TREACLE   MUSTARD 

Erysimum  cheiranthoides,  L. 

Introduced.  Annual  or  winter  annual.  Prop- 
agates by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 

Seed-time:  July  to  September. 

Range:  Newfoundland  to  Alaska,  southward 
to  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee. 

Habitat:   In  fields  and  along  streams. 

The  foliage  and,  particularly,  the  seeds  of 
this  weed  are  very  bitter,  and  when  milch 
cattle  eat  it  the  dairy  products  are  much 
damaged ;  also  its  juices  are  said  to  be  so 
irritating  to  mucous  surfaces  as  to  bring  about 
serious  bowel  disorders  in  stock.  Its  Greek 
name  means  "  to  draw  blisters." 

Stem  eight  inches  to  two  feet  tall,  slen- 
der, and  branching.  Leaves  lance-shaped  to 
linear,  entire  or  sparingly  toothed,  the  lower 
ones  tapering  to  a  short  petiole,  the  upper 
ones  sessile ;  the  whole  plant  minutely  rough- 
ened with  fine,  forking  hairs.  Flowers  about 
a  quarter-inch  broad,  bright  yellow ;  racemes 
slender,  the  siliques  four-sided,  narrow,  smooth, 
a  half-inch  to  an  inch  long,  held  erect  on 
divergent  pedicels,  making  a  noticeable  elbow 
between  the  pod  and  its  stem.  Seeds  small, 
reddish  yellow,  varying  in  shape  from  being 
crowded  in  the  pods  but  approaching  a  flat- 
tened oval;  too  often  an  impurity  among  mum^ cheiranthoides). 
clover  seeds.  (Fig.  138.)  x  i 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Field  Peppergrass. 


196 


CBUCIFERAE  (MUSTARD  FAMILY) 


WINTER  CRESS 
Barbarka  vulgaris,  R.  Br. 

Other  English  names:    Herb  Barbara,  St.  Barbara's  Cress,  Yellow 

Rocket,  Rocket  Cress. 
Native.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   April  to  June. 
Seed-time:   June  to  August. 
Range:   Labrador  to  the  Pacific  Coast,  southward  to  Virginia  and 

the  Middle  West.     Also  native  to  Europe. 
Habitat:   Fields,  meadows,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 


This  plant  is  easily  distinguished  from  other  Mustards  by  the 
large  tufts  of  lyrate  root-leaves,  dark  green,  thick,  smooth,  shining, 
with  heart-shaped  terminal  lobes  and  one  to  four  lateral  pairs  along 

the  midribs ;  these  glossy  green 
rosettes  are  very  conspicuous 
when  first  appearing  from  be- 
neath the  winter  snow;  at  that 
season'  they  make  excellent 
greens,  and  in  Europe  they  are 
cultivated  for  use  as  a  potherb. 
Even  on  St.  Barbara's  Day, 
which  is  the  fourth  of  Decem- 
ber, one  may  dig  away  the  snow 
and  find  the  plants  green  and 
succulent.  Flowering  stalks  one 
to  two  feet  tall,  with  leaves  sessile 
and  sometimes  clasping.  Flowers 
in  open  clusters,  bright  yellow, 
nearly  an  inch  broad,  sweet- 
scented.  Siliques  about  an  inch 
long,  obscurely  four-sided  with 
valves  keeled,  the  pedicels  spread- 
ing but  the  pods  nearly  erect. 
Seeds  brown,  sometimes  grayish 
with  a  coat  of  mucilage,  flat, 
finely  pitted;  they  are  a  com- 
FIG.  139.  -  Winter  Cress  (Barbarea  mon  impurity  of  grass  and  clover 

vulgaris).    x  i  seeds.     (Fig.  139.) 


CRUCIFERAE  (MUSTARD  FAMILY)  197 

Sheep  are  fond  of  Winter  Cress  and  cattle  feed  on  it  with  as 
greedy  an  appetite  as  on  rape  or  turnips  or  other  cultivated  cruci- 
fers ;  for  this  reason  its  planting  as  forage  has  been  advocated,  but 
its  weedy  habit  of  never  "staying  put"  should  be  considered. 

Means  of  control 

Spudding  or  hoe-cutting  the  rosettes  from  the  roots  in  the  first 
year  of  growth,  and  closely  cutting  the  flowering  stalks  while  they 
are  in  first  bloom. 

SCURVY   GRASS 

Barbarea  verna,  Asch. 
(Barbarea  prcecox,  Sm.) 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   April  to  June. 

Seed-time:    June  to  August. 

Range:   Massachusetts  to  Virginia,  and  westward  to  Missouri. 

Habitat:   Fields,  meadows,  and  waste  places. 

Often  cultivated  for  winter  salads,  frequently  escaping  and  now 
thoroughly  naturalized  as  a  weed.  A  more  slender  plant  than  the 
preceding  species,  its  root-leaves  more  finely  divided,  having  five 
to  eight  pairs  of  lateral  segmemts.  Flowers  smaller  and  a  paler 
yellow.  Pods  much  longer,  sharply  four-sided,  slightly  compressed 
on  short  and  very  thick  pedicels.  Seeds  smaller,  more  numerous, 
brown  and  flattened. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Winter  Cress.  The  smooth, 
glossy  surface  of  these  two  Mustards  renders  them  impervious  to 
injury  from  sprays. 

BULBOUS   CRESS 
Carddmine  bulbdsa,  B.S.P. 

Other  English  names:  Bitter  Cress,  Spring  Cress. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and   by  tuber-bearing 

rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom :   April  to  June. 
Seed-time:   May  to  July. 
Range:    Nova   Scotia   to   Minnesota,   southward   to   Florida   and 

Texas. 
Habitat:   Wet  meadows,  swamps,  sides  of  streams,  and  ditches. 


198  CAPP ARID  ACE AE  (CAPER  FAMILY) 

Although  it  produces  seed  in  plenty,  the  worst  part  of  this  weed 
is  underground ;  it  springs  from  a  small  tuber  about  the  size  of  a 
kernel  of  corn,  attached  to  a  slender  rootstock  on  which  there  are 
other  tubers,  all  of  which  will  send  up  new  plants  during  the  present 
or  the  coming  spring.  Cows  sometimes  eat  of  the  plant  when  first 
turned  out  to  graze  in  spring,  seeming  to  relish 
its  pungent,  bitter  taste,  the  taint  of  which 
is  communicated  to  the  milk.  (Fig.  140.) 

Stem  very  slender,  smooth,  six  inches  to  a 
foot  in  height.  Base  leaves  about  an  inch 
broad,  nearly  circular  or  sometimes  heart- 
shaped,  smooth,  entire,  with  long,  slender 
petioles ;  those  on  the  stem  broadly  lance- 
shaped,  sessile,  often  entire,  others  slightly 
toothed.  Flowers  in  rather  large,  loose  clus- 
ters at  the  top  of  the  stalk,  white,  and  about 
a  half -inch  broad.  Siliques  about  an  inch 
long,  flattened,  very  slim,  tapering  at  each 
end,  nearly  erect. 

Means  of  control 

Cleanse  infested  grass  lands  with  better 
drainage,  for  if  they  lack  moisture  the  tubers 
will  die.  Plants  of  brooksides  and  ditches 

should   be  cut  with   hoe  or   scythe  in  the 

FIG.    140.  —  Bulbous          .          ..      ,                    ,.,    ,  .  ,  . 

Cress  (Cardamine  but-   spring,   if   they   are   likely  to  come  within 
bosa).    x  i.                     reach  of  grazing  milch  cattle. 


CLAMMYWEED 
Polanisia  graveolans,  Raf . 

Other  English  names:   Clammy  Clover,  Stinking  Clover. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 

Seed-time :   Late  July  to  October. 

Range:  Quebec  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  southward  to  Mary- 
land, Tennessee,  and  Colorado. 

Habitat:  Sandy  or  gravelly  soil;  shores  of  streams  and  lakes,  road 
embankments,  moist,  sandy  fields. 


CAPPARIDACEAE  (CAPER  FAMILY) 


199 


An  unpleasant  weed,  with  fetid  odor  and 
acrid  juices,  the  whole  plant  glandular  and 
clammy-hairy,  even  to  its  pods.  Stem  six 
inches  to  two  feet  tall,  with  slender  as- 
cending branches.  Leaves  alternate,  dark 
green,  with  three  oblong  leaflets,  tapering 
to  each  end,  on  slender  petioles  about  as 
long  as  the  central  blade.  Flowers  in  the 
upper  axils,  forming  long,  leafy,  terminal 
racemes  ;  corolla  of  four  yellowish  white  or 
pinkish  petals,  notched  at  the  outer  edge, 
with  a  tassel  of  many  unequal  pinkish 
purple  stamens  in  the  center  :  four  purplish 
pointed  sepals,  soon  falling  away.  Capsule 
one  to  nearly  two  inches  long,  erect  on 
spreading  pedicels,  one-celled,  thin,  rough, 
net-veined,  crammed  with  rough,  brown 
seeds.  (Fig.  141.) 

Means  of  control 

Close  cutting  or  pulling  before  the  formation  of  seed. 


FIG.  141.  —  Clammy- 
weed  (Polanisia  graveo- 
lans).  Xi 


PINK   CLEOME 

Cledme  serruldta,  Pursh. 

Other  English  names:  Rocky  Mountain  Bee-plant,  Stinking  Clover, 

Stinkweed. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 
Seed-time:    Late  August  to  November. 
Range:    Minnesota,  Iowa,  and  Missouri,  westward  to  the  Rocky 

Mountains,  New  Mexico,  and  Arizona ;    also  in  Manitoba  and 

the  Northwest  Territory. 
Habitat :   Dry  upland  prairies  and  hillsides,  waste  places. 

The  foliage  of  this  plant  has  a  very  unpleasant  odor,  which  causes 
it  to  be  rejected  by  grazing  cattle;  but  the  blossoms  yield  much 
nectar,  which  the  bees  turn  into  clear  honey  of  fine  flavor ;  there- 
fore bee  keepers  are  its  friends,  for  it  blooms  at  a  time  when  bee- 
pasture  is  not  so  very  plentiful. 


200 


CRASSULACEAE  (ORPINE  FAMILY) 


FIG.  142.  —  Pink 
Cleome  (Cleome  serru- 
lata).  Xi 


Stems  two  to  three  feet  tall,  erect, 
smooth,  with  a  few  branches  near  the  top. 
Leaves  alternate,  three-parted,  or  the  up- 
permost simple,  the  leaflets  oblong,  veiny, 
and  pointed  at  each  end ;  leaves  near  the 
base  have  slender  petioles,  but  the  upper 
ones  are  sessile  or  very  short-petioled. 
Flowers  in  terminal  racemes,  rose-colored, 
sometimes  nearly  white,  very  showy,  the 
four  petals  being  about  a  half-inch  in  length 
and  half  as  broad;  sepals  four,  often  per- 
sistent ;  ovary  stalked,  with  a  gland  at  its 
base ;  stamens  usually  six,  occasionally  four, 
inserted  above  the  petals  on  the  stipe  of 
the  ovary ;  pedicels  subtended  by  small, 
lance-shaped  bracts.  Pods  one-celled,  very 
slender,  one  to  two  inches  long,  pointed  at 
each  end,  crowded  with  seeds.  (Fig.  142.) 


Means  of  control 

Cut  or  pull   before  the 
have  matured  any  pods. 


earliest  flowers 


MOSSY   STONECROP 
Sedum  acre,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Wall  Pepper,  Biting  Orpine,  Golden  Moss, 

Creeping  Jack,  Pricket. 
Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rooting  at 

the  joints. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  August. 
Seed-time:  July  to  September. 
Range:    New  Brunswick  to  Ontario,   southward  to  Virginia  and 

Ohio. 
Habitat :   Fields  and  roadsides  ;   cemeteries. 

At  least  one  case  of  severe  poisoning  has  been  reported  from  the 
eating  of  this  peppery  little  plant.  Stems  tufted,  spreading  on  the 
ground,  rather  thick  and  succulent,  rooting  at  the  joints,  only  the 
flowering  branches  erect,  one  to  three  inches  high.  Leaves  yellow- 


CRASSULACEAE  (ORPINE  FAMILY) 


201 


ish  green,  smooth,  fleshy,  alternate,  sessile,  hardly  a  quarter-inch 
long,  crowded  and  overlapping  on  the  stalks.  Flowers  in  small 
terminal  cymes,  bright  golden  yellow,  each  about  a  half -inch  broad ; 
calyx  four-  or  five-lobed;  petals  four  or  five,  distinct;  stamens 
eight  or  ten.  Follicles  four  or  five,  spreading,  tipped  with  the 
persistent  styles.  Seeds  reddish  yellow,  very  small. 
Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Sedum  stoloniferum. 


LIVE-FOREVER 

Sedum  stoloniferum,  Gmel. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  stolons. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  July. 

Seed-time:   August  to  September. 

Range:   Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick,  Maine. 

Habitat :   Fields  and  roadsides. 


An  escape  from  the  flower  garden,  very  hard 
to  suppress  when  established  as  a  weed.  Stems 
rather  thick,  spreading  on  all  sides,  taking  root 
at  the  joints  and  sending  up  numerous  flowering 
stalks,  three  to  eight  inches  tall.  Leaves  opposite, 
obovate,  small,  thick,  sessile,  wedge-shaped  at  the 
base,  the  rounded  tip  finely  scallop-toothed. 
Flowers  in  flat,  crowded  cymes,  the  blossoms  pink, 
about  a  half-inch  broad,  the  central  and  first- 
opened  flowers  usually  having  five  pointed  petals, 
most  of  the  others  but  four.  Seeds  very  small, 
in  four  or  five  pointed  spreading  follicles  which 
are  united  at  the  base;  not  often  produced,  the 
plant  spreading  chiefly  by  its  stoloniferous  stems. 
(Fig.  143.) 

Means  of  control 

Careful  hoe-cutting,  skinning  the  patches  from 
the  ground  and  removing  to  the  compost  heap  or 
the  bonfire ;  for  any  bit  of  stem  in  contact  with 
moist  soil,  if  it  contains  a  joint,  will  take  root  and 
continue  to  grow. 


FIG.  143.— 
Live-forever 
(Sedum  stoloni- 
ferum). X  J. 


202  CRASSULACEAE  (ORPINE  FAMILY) 

COMMON  OPINE  OR  LIVE-FOREVER 

Sedum  purpiireum,  Tausch. 
(Sedum  Telephium,  L.) 

Other  English  names:  Live-long,  Aaron's  Rod,  Purse  Plant,  Pud- 
ding-bags. 

Introduced.  Perennial.  Propagates  by  seeds,  by  tubers,  and  by 
rooting  at  the  joints. 

Time  of  bloom :'  June  to  September. 

Seed-time:  August  to  October. 

Range:   Quebec  to  Ontario  and  Michigan,  southward  to  Maryland. 

Habitat:   Fields,  roadsides,  waste  places. 

An  escape  from  gardens,  and  a  most  pernicious  weed  when  out  of 
bounds.  The  tuberous,  fleshy,  white  roots  are  attached  to  the 
stems  by  small  necks,  and  if  even  a  very  little 
one  is  broken  off  it  sprouts  a  stalk  and  con- 
tinues to  thrive;  broken  stalks  become  slips, 
which  put  forth  roots  and  form  new  plants. 

Stem  six  inches  to  two  feet  in  height,  round, 
stout,  smooth,  erect,  very  leafy,  often  purplish. 
Leaves  alternate,  long  obovate  or  the  upper 
ones  oval,  thick,  light  green,  bluntly  toothed, 
sessile  or  the  lowermost  with  petioles.  By 
careful  lateral  pressure  with  the  finger-tips 
the  two  surfaces  of  a  leaf  may  be  separated, 
making  a  "  purse,"  or  "  pudding-bag."  Flowers 
purple,  in  a  dense,  compound  cyme  at  the 
summit  of  the  stalk;  each  blossom  about  a 
half-inch  broad,  with  five  petals,  rather  thick, 
ovate,  acute,  twice  as  long  as  the  sepals ;  sta- 
mens ten ;  carpels  five,  tipped  with  a  per- 
sistent style,  very  short.  Seeds  small,  seldom 
produced,  the  plant  spreading  almost  entirely 
by  its  tuberous  rootstocks.  (Fig.  .144.) 

FIG.    144.  —  Com-      ,r  ,         .     , 

mon  Orpine  or  Live-      Means  of  control 

forever  (Sedum  pur-        Deep  cutting  in  midsummer,  salt  or  carbolic 

acid  being  applied  to  the  shorn  surfaces.    Sheep 

will  graze  the  plants  down,  particularly  if  strewn  with  a   little 

salt.     There   is   a   fungous    disease    that    attacks   and    kills   the 


BOS ACE 'AE  (ROSE  FAMILY)  203 

weed,  and  diseased  plants  may  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
fection and  destruction.  The  writer  once  killed  a  small  patch 
in  a. cemetery  with  kerosene  oil,  but  the  ground  was  made  sterile 
and  resodding  was  necessary.  Caustic  soda  would  be  equally 
effective  and  leach  away  more  quickly. 

MEADOW-SWEET 
Spircea  latifolia,  Borkh. 

Other  English  names:   Quaker  Lady,  Meadow  Queen. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   June  to  August. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range :   Eastern  North  America  from  Newfoundland  to  Virginia. 

Habitat:   Rocky  pastures,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

A  handsome  shrub  which  seems  to  have  a  preference  for  hillside 
pastures,  where  it  spreads  its  kind  undisturbed  by  grazing  animals, 
as  they  dislike  its  astringent,  bitter  taste. 

Stems  two  to  four  feet  tall,  with  smooth,  reddish 
or  purplish  brown  bark,  simple  or  branching  near 
the  top.  Leaves  alternate,  thin,  smooth,  dark 
green,  nearly  an  inch  broad  and  three  times  as 
long,  rather  coarsely  toothed,  obtuse,  and  nar- 
rowing somewhat  abruptly  to  a  short  petiole. 
Flowers  in  dense  terminal  panicles,  very  small, 
white  or  pale  pink,  with  little  or  no  fragrance  in 
spite  of  the  name;  calyx  short,  five-cleft,  per- 
sistent, nearly  smooth;  the  five  petals  obovate 
and  equal ;  stamens  many ;  pistils  usually  five, 
superior,  alternate  with  the  calyx  lobes.  The  blos- 
soms open  from  the  summit  downward,  and  as  the 
season  advances  the  plume-like  clusters  begin  to 
turn  brown  at  the  top.  Seeds  minute,  in  five  small, 
smooth,  brown,  style-tipped  follicles.  (Fig.  145.) 

Means  of  control  FIG.    145.   — 

Meadow-sweet 

Yearling  shoots  are  easily  and  quickly  hand-  (Spircea latifolia). 
pulled  when  the  ground  is  soft,  but  if  left  to  sink  x  £. 


204 


ROSACE AE  (ROSE  FAMILY) 


their  woody  roots  into  the  soil  they  require  to  be  grubbed  out. 
Seeding  may  be  prevented  and  root-growth  checked  by  close 
cutting  in  the  hot  "wood-sere"  days  of  July  and  early  August 


FIG.  146.  —  Willow- 
leaved  Meadow-sweet 
(Spircea  sdlicifolid). 

xi 


WILLOW-LEAVED   MEADOW-SWEET 
Spircea  salicifdlia,  L. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 
Seed-time:   August  to  October. 
Range:  Newfoundland  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, southward  to  Georgia  and  Missouri. 
Habitat:   Moist  meadows  and  swamps. 


Stems  erect,  slender,  two  to  five  feet  tall, 
with  smooth,  yellowish  brown  bark;  these 
stems  are  very  tough  and  troublesome  to 
mowing  knives  and  scythes.  Leaves  firm, 
light  green,  smooth,  or  nearly  so,  lance-shaped, 
usually  obtuse  at  apex,  finely  toothed,  tapering 
at  base  to  a  short  petiole.  Flowers  in  large 
terminal  panicles  somewhat  more  narrow  and 
pyramidal  than  in  the  preceding  species,  the 
five  white  petals  of  the  small  blossoms  nearly 
round;  pedicels  and  calyx  finely  downy. 
The  five  tiny  follicles  smooth,  two-  to  four- 
seeded.  (Fig.  146.) 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  S.  latifolia. 


HARDBACK 

Spircea  tomentbsa 


Other  English  names:    Steeple-bush,  Woolly 

Meadow-sweet. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:  June  to  August. 
Seed-time:  August  to  October. 
Range:    Nova  Scotia  to  Manitoba,   southward  to  Georgia  and 

Kansas. 
Habitat:   Moist  meadows  and  swamps. 


ROSACEAE  (ROSE  FAMILY) 


205 


Stems  erect,  two  to  four  feet  tall,  woody,  so  hard 
and  brittle  as  to  nick  scythe  blades  and  break  mowing 
knives,  the  bark  red  and  clothed  in  rusty  wool 
which  readily  rubs  off.  Leaves  long  ovate,  unequally 
toothed,  obtuse  at  apex,  the  base  rounded  or 
abruptly  narrowed  to  a  short  petiole,  smooth  and 
green  above  but  covered  underneath  with  tawny  or 
whitish  wool.  Flowers  in  dense  terminal  racemes, 
spire-like,  deep  rose-pink,  sometimes  a  reddish  purple, 
occasionally  white.  The  roundish,  pointed  follicles 
are  also  woolly,  filled  with  minute,  brown  seeds. 
(Fig.  147.) 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Meadow-sweet. 


ROUGH   CINQUEFOIL 
Potentilla  monspeliensis,  L. 

ics:     Tall    Five-finger,    Norway 


June    to       FIG.  147. — 
Hardback 


Other    English    narr< 
Cinquefoil. 

Native.   Annual  or  biennial. 

Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time   of    bloom: 

September. 

Seed-time :  July  to  October.    (Spiraea      to- 
Range :  Labrador  to  Alaska,   mentosa).  x  $. 

southward     to     Georgia, 

Texas,  and  Mexico. 
Habitat :    Dry  soil ;    fields,  meadows,  and 

waste  places. 

Stem  one  to  three  feet  tall,  stout,  erect, 
rough-hairy,  branching  near  the  top,  be- 
coming tough  and  woody  with  age  and 
changing  from  green  to  a  dingy  reddish 
purple.  Leaves  alternate,  palmately  tri- 
foliate, the  leaflets  obovate,  double- 
toothed,  tapering  to  the  base,  hairy  on 
both  sides,  the  lower  leaves  petioled,  the 

FIG.    148.  -  Rough   "pP^onf  ^  OT  nearly  so;  stipules 
Cinquefoil  (Potentilla  mon-  leaf-like,  lance-shaped,  toothed  or  entire, 
x  i  Flowers    in    terminal    cymose    clusters, 


206 


ROSACEAE  (ROSE  FAMILY) 


rather  small,  the  five  rounded,  pale  yellow  petals  being  less 
than  half  as  long  as  the  hairy,  pointed,  persistent  calyx-lobes  which 
are  subtended  by  bracts  still  longer;  stamens  many.  After  the 
flower  has  been  fertilized  the  long  calyx-lobes  close  protectingly 
over  the  cone-like  heads  until  the  many  small  achenes  have 
ripened  and  are  ready  to  be  scattered  by  the  swaying  of  the  tall 
weed  in  the  wind.  (Fig.  148.) 

Means  of  control 

Close  cutting  wrhile  in  first  bloom ;  cultivation  of  the  ground  for 
one  or  two  seasons. 

.      SILVERY   CINQUEFOIL 
Potentilla  argentea,  L. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   May  to  September. 

Seed-time:    Late  June  to  November. 

Range:   Nova  Scotia  to  the  Dakotas,  southward  to  Maryland  and 

Kansas.     Native  also  to  Europe  and  Asia. 
Habitat :   Dry  soil ;   fields,  meadows,  and  pastures. 


The  plant  from  which  this  description 
is  written  was  pulled  from  a  sidehill  grass 
lot,  on  which  the  grass  was  burned  brown 
and  apparently  dead  from  the  drought  — 
but  the  weed  did  not  appear  to  be  suffer- 
ing. Root  deep,  hard,  and  woody,  with 
branching,  fibrous  rootlets.  Stems  tufted, 
spreading,  three  inches  to  a  foot  in  length, 
also  coarse  and  woody,  covered  with  woolly 
white  hair.  Leaves  palmately  five-foliate, 
usually  less  than  an  inch  broad,  smooth 
and  green  above  but  silver-white  beneath 
with  woolly  hair;  leaflets  wedge-shaped, 
deeply  cut,  entire  toward  the  base,  with 
margins  revolute.  Flowers  in  cymose  clus- 
ters, terminal  on  short  pedicels,  about  a 
quarter-inch  broad,  the  calyx  white-woolly, 
the  five  rounded  petals  greenish  yellow, 


FIG.  149.  —  Silvery 
Cinquefoil  (Potentilla 
argentea).  X  j. 


BOS  ACE AE  (ROSE  FAMILY) 


207 


slightly    notched    at    the    edge, 
ripening  and  falling  all  summer. 


Achenes    smooth,    very   small, 
(Fig.  149.) 


Means  of  control 

Enrich  the  soil,  furnishing  humus  which  will  enable  it  to  retain 
moisture  and  support  the  growth  of  better  plants. 


SHRUBBY    CINQUEFOIL 
Potentilla  fruticdsa,  L. 

Other   English   names:     Yellow    Hardback,    Prairie   Weed,    Black 

Brush,  Chester  Flower. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   May  to  October. 
Seed-time:    Seeds  remain  on  the  plant  until  winter,  being  usually 

scattered  between  December  and  March. 
Range:    Labrador  to  Alaska,  southward  to  New  Jersey,    Illinois, 

and  Minnesota.     In  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  Arizona  and  in  the* 

Sierra  Nevadas  to  California. 
Habitat :   Dry  open  ground  ;   meadows  and  pastures. 


A  plant  which  has  shown  its  weedy  qualities 
chiefly  in  New  England  and  in  parts  of 
Colorado,  Indiana,  and  Ohio.  It  is  a  shrub, 
one  to  five  feet  tall,  branching  from  the  base, 
making  a  spreading,  compact  growth  which 
chokes  out  all  else.  Young  shoots  are  clothed 
in  white  down,  but  when  mature  the  stems  be- 
come hard,  woody,  and  covered  with  hairy, 
ragged,  grayish  brown  bark.  These  old  "  Hard- 
hack"  stems  are  incredibly  tough  and  turn  the 
edge  of  the  sharpest  scythes.  Leaves  pinnately 
five-  to  seven-foliate,  the  leaflets  pointed  at  both 
ends,  a  half-inch  to  an  inch  long,  entire,  with 
margins  slightly  revolute,  gray-green  with  silky 
hairs.  Flowers  in  terminal  cymose  clusters, 
numerous,  bright  yellow,  about  an  inch  broad, 
the  five  petals  nearly  round  and  exceeding 
the  ovate  calyx-lobes  and  the  pointed  bracts. 
Achenes  twenty  or  more  to  a  flower,  small,  xi 


FIG.  150.  —  Shrub- 
by Cinquefoil   (Po- 


208  ROSACEAE  (ROSE  FAMILY) 

light,  hairy-coated,  blown  far  and  wide  over  crusted  winter  snow. 
(Fig.  150.) 

Means  of  control 

One  way  is  to  cut  or  burn  off  the  tops  before  the  leaves  start  in 
the  spring,  and  then,  with  a  strong  team  and  a  heavy  plow,  turn  out 
the  roots,  drag  them  from  the  soil  with  a  harrow,  pile,  dry  for  a 
few  days,  and  burn.  Some  of  the  largest  roots  will  prove  .too  much 
for  the  plow  and  the  harrow ;  such  roots  must  be  pulled  by  a  horse 
with  a  chain,  aided  by  a  man  with  a  crowbar.  Or  young  and  com- 
paratively shallow  roots  may  be  knocked  out  of  the  ground  with  a 
pickax  while  the  soil  is  still  frozen.  Farmers  who  have  thus  re- 
claimed Cinquefoil  fields  say  that  the  land  is  left  in  excellent  condi- 
tion for  crops,  being  apparently  improved  rather  than  exhausted 
by  its  weedy  occupant.  Some  of  these  shrubby  lots  may  not  be 
worth  so  much  expense  and  labor  and  should  be  given  back  to  forest 
growth,  which  soon  drives  out  the  weed  and  would,  in  the  end, 
prove  a  very  profitable  investment. 

The  keeping  of  Angora  goats  has  been  successfully  tried,  those 
animals  browsing  back  the  twigs  and  entirely  preventing  seed 
development;  but  there  is  probably  more  than  enough  Black 
Brush,  as  the  shrub  is  called  in  Colorado,  to  supply  all  the  goats  in 
the  country.  On  the  whole,  the  best  means  of  keeping  out  this  very 
aggressive  weed  is  not  to  let  it  get  in ;  that  is,  whenever  the  white, 
woolly,  young  shoots  appear,  hand-pull  them  promptly,  letting 
none  mature  to  reproduce  themselves  by  thousands  and  possess  the 
land. 

SILVERWEED 
Potentilla  Anserlna,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Goose  Grass,  Goose  Tansy. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and   by  many-jointed 

runners  which  take  root  at  the  nodes. 
Time  of  bloom :   May  to  September. 
Seed-time:   July  to  November. 

Range:  Throughout  North  America ;   also  in  Europe  and  Asia. 
Habitat:   Wet  grasslands,  banks  of  streams,  lake  and  sea  shores. 

All  that  this  plant  seems  to  require  is  that  the  ground  shall  be 
damp,  and,  whether  the  land  be  the  tropic  shores  of  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  or  an  Alaskan  or  Greenland  marsh,  it  is  satisfied. 


BOSACEAE  (ROSE  FAMILY)  209 

The  weed  springs  from  a  slender  taproot,  fringed  with  many 
thready  rootlets.  Leaves  thickly  tufted,  spreading,  six  to  eighteen 
inches  long,  pinnately  compound  with  seven  to  twenty-five  oblong, 
tooth-edged  leaflets,  the  larger  ones  at  the  tip,  decreasing  in  size 
inward  to  the  long,  grooved  petiole,  dark  green  and  smooth  above 
but  underneath  white  with  fine,  silken  hairs.  Thrust  out  from 
among  the  tufted  leaves  are  a  number  of  jointed  runners,  one  to 
three  feet  long,  the  young  plants  sitting  on  the  nodes  until  the 
parent  has  pushed  them  out  a  convenient  distance  for  striking  root 
and  starting  an  independent  growth.  Flowers  solitary,  lifted  on 
slender,  erect,  axillary  peduncles,  bright  yellow,  nearly  an  inch 
broad ;  calyx-lobes  acute,  silky-hairy ;  these  fold  over  the  seed- 
heads  until  the  smooth,  small  achenes  have  ripened,  when  they 
reopen  and  the  nodding  stems  scatter  them  abroad. 

Means  of  control 

Good  drainage  is  all  that  is  necessary  in 
order  to  drive  out  the  Silverweed,  but  in 
places  where  that  is  impracticable  the  plants 
should  be  closely  cut  in  June,  before  the 
first  seeds  fall  or  any  runners  have  taken  root. 

COMMON   CINQUEFOIL   OR   FIVE-FINGER 
Potentilla  canadensis,  L. 

Native.  Perennial.  Propagates  by  seeds  and 
by  stolons. 

Time  of  bloom:   April  to  August. 

Seed-time:    June  to  September. 

Range :  Maine  and  Quebec  to  Minnesota,  south- 
ward to  Georgia  and  Oklahoma. 

Habitat :  Dry  soil ;  fields,  meadows,  pastures, 
and  waste  places. 

Stems   tufted,  spreading,  stoloniferous,   six 
inches   to   two   feet   long,    very   slender,    the 
runners    thin    as   wire,    often    reddish,   finely  mon<j1J0i1i«er 
hairy.      Leaves     palmately    five-foliate,     the  tentilla      canadensis). 
leaflets    oblong    obovate,    green   and   smooth    x  i 


210 


ROSACEAE  (ROSE  FAMILY) 


above,  sparsely  hairy  beneath,  with  slender  petioles.  Flowers 
solitary  in  the  axils,  on  long  slender,  wiry  peduncles,  golden 
yellow,  about  a  half-inch  broad,  the  five  petals  broadly  obovate, 
longer  than  the  pointed  calyx-lobes  and  the  narrow  bractlets. 
Achenes  small,  smooth,  scattered  by  the  nodding  of  the  wiry 
flower-stalks.  (Fig.  151.) 

Means  of  control 

Cultivation,  liming  and  manuring  the  soil,  will  so  stimulate  the 
growth  of  better  plants  that  the  weed  will  soon  be  superseded. 
Clover  is  the  best  crop  to  grow  for  this  purpose. 


WHITE  AVENS 

Geum  canadense,  Jacq. 
(Geum  dlbum,  Gmel.) 

Native.   Perennial.  Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   June  to  August. 

Seed-time:   July  to  September. 

Range :  Nova  Scotia  to  Minnesota,  south- 
ward to  Georgia  and  Missouri. 

Habitat :  Fence-rows,  woodland  borders, 
thickets  along  streams. 

A  frequent  weed  in  brushy  pastures 
where  sheep  are  likely  to  be  foraging 
and  to  get  their  fleeces  beset  with  its 
bristly,  hooked  achenes.  Stems  one  to 
two  feet  in  height,  slender,  erect,  finely 
hairy  or  sometimes  smooth,  branched 
near  the  top.  Lower  and  basal  leaves 
long-petioled,  pinately  three-  to  five- 
parted,  the  terminal  lobe  large  and 
broadly  ovate,  the  lateral  lobes  small 
and  narrow,  all  sharply  toothed;  stem 
leaves  with  fewer  segments  and  short 
petioles,  the  topmost  becoming  lance-- 
shaped and  sessile.  Flowers  white  or 
pale  greenish  yellow,  about  a  half-inch 


FIG.     152.  —  White    Avens 
(Geum  canadense).     X  i- 


ROSACE AE  (ROSE  FAMILY)  211 

broad,  with  five  short,  rounded  petals  and  pointed,  reflexed  calyx- 
lobes  ;  stamens  many,  inserted  on  a  disk  at  the  base  of  the  calyx. 
Head  of  fruit  nearly  globular,  the  many  persistent,  jointed  styles 
forming  hooks  by  which  theachenes  attach  themselves  to  clothing  or 
to  the  coats  of  animals  for  transportation  to  new  homes.  (Fig.  152.) 

Means  of  control 

Close  cutting  before  the  development  of  seeds. 

DEWBERRY 

Rubus  villdsus,  Ait. 
(Riibus  procumbens,  Muhl.) 

Other  English  names:   Running  Blackberry,  Trailing  Bramble. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:    Late  April  to  June. 

Seed-time :  Fruit  ripe  in  June  in  southern  part  of  its  range,  in  July 
farther  north. 

Range :  Newfoundland  and  Ontario  to 
Lake  Superior,  southward  to  Vir- 
ginia and  Missouri. 

Habitat :  Upland  fields,  meadows,  and 
pastures,  fence  rows,  and  waste 


A  variety  of  this  plant,  much  im- 
proved by  selection  and  cultivation, 
comes  to  our  tables  as  the  delicious 
"Lucretia  Dewberry";  but  the  wild 
bramble,  sprawling  itself  over  acres  of 
open  uplands,  is  a  pestiferous  weed. 
Birds  are  very  fond  of  the  fruits  and 
eat  them  to  repletion,  voiding  the  seeds 
unharmed,  so  that  prickly  young  Dew- 
berry shoots  get  mown  with  the  hay 
of  the  meadows  and  keep  turning  up  in 
the  most  unexpected  places. 

Stems     prostrate,     shrubby,      very 
prickly,    six  to  ten    or   more   feet    in  Plo-   153  _  Wild   Dewberry 
length,  with  many  small  erect  fruiting          (Rubus  villosus).    xi- 


212  EOS  ACE  AE  (ROSE  FAMILY) 

branches,  six  inches  to  a  foot  high,  all  armed  with  sharp  prickles. 
Leaves  pinnately  compound,  with  three  to  seven  long-ovate  or 
rhombic  leaflets,  on  very  slender  and  often  prickly  petioles,  rather 
thin,  prominently  veined,  finely  double-toothed,  dark  green, 
taking  on  a  gorgeous  red  coloring  in  autumn.  Flowers  in  terminal 
clusters,  or  occasionally  solitary,  about  an  inch  broad,  with  five- 
parted  calyx  and  five  obovate,  white  petals ;  stamens  many ; 
pistils  many,  closely  set  on  a  succulent  "core"  or  torus  which 
elongates  as  they  mature,  each  becoming  a  small  pulpy  drupelet, 
containing  one  achene.  These  drupelets  cohere  and  form  the 
fruit,  black,  sweet,  juicy,  often  an  inch  long,  dropping  readily 
from  the  stems  when  ripe.  (Fig.  153.) 

Means  of  control 

The  vines  should  be  cut  close  to  the  ground,  or,  better,  spudded 
off  below  the  surface,  before  the  fruit  is  formed,  and  then  piled  and 
burned.  A  handful  of  salt  or  a  little  kerosene  on  the  cut  surfaces  is 
discouraging  to  new  growth. 

TALL   HAIRY  AGRIMONY 

Agrimdnia  gryposepala,  Wallr. 
(Agrimbnia  hirsuta,  Bicknell) 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range :  Nova  Scotia  and  Maine  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  North 

Carolina.     Also  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 
Habitat:   Woodland  borders,  thickets  along  streams. 

One  of  the  many  "stickseed"  plants  that  vex  the  wool-grower, 
and  rather  common  in  the  rocky  brush-lot  pastures  usually  given 
over  to  sheep.  Stem  two  to  four  feet  tall,  slender,  and  covered 
with  fine,  spreading  hairs.  Roots  fibrous  and  clustered.  Leaves 
deep  green,  pinnatifid,  mostly  with  seven  —  sometimes  five  or  nine 
—  large,  coarsely  toothed,  oblong  to  obovate  leaflets,  and  three 
pairs  of  smaller  ones  interposed  between  them ;  petioles  hairy, 
with  large,  coarsely  toothed  stipules  at  the  base.  Flowers  in  long, 
slender,  spicate  racemes,  the  rachis  glandular-hairy,  interspersed 


ROSACEAE  (ROSE  FAMILY)  213 

with  longer  spreading  hairs ;  blossoms 
less  than  a  half-inch  broad,  with  five 
small,  rounded,  yellow  petals,  many 
stamens,  one  pistil  with  two-parted 
style,  and  a  hairy,  five-lobed  calyx, 
closed  after  flowering  and  surrounded 
with  a  ring  of  hooked  bristles ;  these 
lengthen  as  the  two  achenes  within 
mature,  forming  a  small,  top-shaped 
bur  with  its  outer  row  of  hooks  de- 
flexed,  the  inner  ones  spreading  and 
erect,  so  that  no  sheep  or  woollen  gar- 
ment can  touch  a  spike  without  attach- 
ing most  of  its  fruits.  (Fig.  154.) 

Means  of  control 

If    flocks    are  to  be  kept  in  their 
neighborhood    the    plants    should    be 

searched  out  and  closely  cut  while  in 

n         11               r\         i.          i.                       •  FIG.  154.  — Tall  Hairy  Agn- 

nrst    bloom.      Ur,  When   the   ground    IS  mony  (Agrimoniagryposepala). 

soft,  they  may  be  hand-pulled.  x  J. 

SOFT  AGRIMONY 

Agrimbnia  mdllis,  Britton 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  tubers. 

Time  of  bloom:  July  to  October. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range :  Connecticut  to  Michigan,  southward  to  North  Carolina  and 

Kansas. 
Habitat:   Hillsides,  dry  woodland  borders,  and  thickets. 

Roots  tuberous,  rather  thick  and  elongated.  Stems  very  slender, 
two  to  five  feet  tall,  with  slim  ascending  branches,  covered  with  fine, 
very  soft  hair.  Leaflets  five  to  nine  (mostly  seven),  with  two  or 
three  intermediate  smaller  pairs,  oblong  to  elliptic  or  obovate, 
obtuse,  rather  thick,  scallop-toothed,  grayish  green  and  very  softly 
hairy  on  both  sides ;  stipules  oblong  to  lance-shaped,  and  entire,  or 
sometimes  broad  and  sharply  toothed.  Racemes  long  and  wand- 
like,  interrupted,  the  flowers  nearly  a  half-inch  broad,  bright  yellow. 


214  ROSACEAE  (ROSE  FAMILY) 

The  top-shaped  burs  about  a  quarter-inch  long,  the  ring  of  hooked 
bristles  ascending  nearly  in  a  single  row. 

Means  of  control 

If  deprived  of  leaf  growth  by  frequent  cutting  throughout  the 
growing  season,  the  tubers  shrivel  and  die;  in  any  case  no  fruits 
should  be  allowed  to  mature  in  the  neighborhood  of  grazing  flocks. 

SMALL-FLOWERED   AGRIMONY 

Agrimonia  parviflora,  Ait. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  October. 

Seed-time :   August  to  November. 

Range:   Connecticut  to  Ontario,  Michigan,  and  Kansas,  southward 

to  Georgia  and  Louisiana. 
Habitat :  Sandy  alluvial  soil ;  damp  meadows,  thickets  along  streams. 

Stem  two  to  six  feet  in  height  with  slender  branches  near  the 
top,  densely  set  with  bristly,  brownish  hairs,  very  leafy,  growing 
from  fibrous  clustered  roots.  Leaflets  nine  to  nineteen,  elliptic  to 
narrow  lance-shaped,  pointed  at  both  ends,  sharply  toothed,  thin, 
finely  hairy,  with  many  interposed  pairs  of  small  leaflets  of  varying 
sizes ;  stipules  usually  broader  than  their  length,  clasping,  sharply 
toothed.  Racemes  many-flowered,  one  to  two  feet  long,  the  blos- 
soms hardly  more  than  a  quarter-inch  broad,  the  petals  light  yellow. 
Burs  small,  dilated  top-shaped,  deflexed  on  their  pedicels,  the  rows 
of  hooked  bristles  erect,  spreading,  and  reflexed. 

Means  of  control 

If  areas  are  not  too  large  to  make  the  task  impracticable,  hand- 
pulling  the  plants  before  seed  development  is  well  worth  while. 
Repeated  and  close  cutting  throughout  the  growing  season,  depriv- 
ing the  roots  of  all  leaf-growth,  will  finally  suppress  the  weed. 

SWEET  BRIER 

Rosa  rubigindsa,  L. 
(Rosa  eglanteria,  Mill.) 

Other  English  names. :_  Eglantine,  Sweetleaf  Rose. 
Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 


ROSACEAE  (ROSE  FAMILY) 


215 


Time  of  bloom:   June  to  July. 

Seed-time :   Hips  ripe  in  September  but  remain  on  the  bushes  until 
winter. 

Range:   Nova  Scotia  to  Ontario  and  Michigan,  southward  to  Vir- 
ginia and  Tennessee. 
.  Habitat :   Rocky  pastures,  along  roadsides,  and  in  fields. 

Every  pure  pink  blossom  and  fragrant  leaf  of  this  plant  seem  a 
protest  against  its  being  called  a  weed.  It  came  to  us  from  Europe, 
and  the  pages  of  Chaucer,  Spenser,  Shakespeare,  are  full  of  its 
sweetness.  But, 

"With  brambles  and  bushes  in  pasture  too  full, 
Poore  sheepe  be  in  danger  and  loseth  their  wull," 

and  cattle  will  not  touch  it  nor  even  graze  very  near  it,  fearing  the 
hooked  prickers  and  apparently  not  liking  its  fragrance.  (Fig. 
155.) 

Canes  slender,  four  to  eight  feet  high,  brown  when  old,  armed 
with  strong,  flattened,  hooked,  brown 
prickles ;  between  them  the  stem  may  be 
smooth,  or,  when  young,  may  be  set  with 
fine  bristly  hairs.  Leaves  alternate,  pin- 
nately  compound,  with  five  to  seven 
roundish  oval  leaflets,  rather  thick,  finely 
double-toothed,  dark  green  and  smooth 
above,  but  covered  underneath  with  fine, 
soft  hair  and  resinous,  rust-colored  glands 
that  show  very  plainly  under  a  lens ;  the 
broad  stipules  are  also  glandular.  Flowers 
pink,  not  fragrant,  usually  about  two 
inches  broad,  the  five  petals  notched  into 
a  heart-shape  at  the  outer  edge,  with  a 
tuft  of  many  yellow  stamens  in  the 
center ;  calyx-lobes  spreading  and  much 
divided,  glandular-hairy,  as  are  also  the 
pedicels.  Within  the  calyx-tube  is  a 
hollow  disk  on  which  the  many  pistils 
are  set;  ovaries  hairy,  becoming  bony 
achenes.  Hips  about  a  half-inch  long,  FIG. 
ovoid,  smooth,  orange-red;  under  the 


155.  —  Sweet    Brier 
(Rosa  rubiginosa).     X  1- 


216 


ROSACEAE  (ROSE  FAMILY) 


rather  thin   skin  is  a  layer  of  soft  pulp,  but  within  they  are 
stuffed  with  the  hard,  hairy,  straw-colored  achenes. 

Means  of  control 

Old  bushes  require  grubbing  for  their  removal.  Young  ones, 
while  the  canes  are  still  green,  may  be  destroyed  by  repeated  cut- 
ting and  salting,  or  by  treating  with  a  little  caustic  soda  about  the 
roots. 

PRAIRIE  ROSE 

Rosa  arkansana,  Porter. 

Other  English  names:   Running  Brier-rose,  Prairie  Bramble. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  July. 

Seed-time:  Hips  ripe  in  autumn  but  retained  until  winter. 

Range:    Manitoba,   Minnesota,   and   the   Dakotas,   southward  to 

Colorado,  New  Mexico,  and  Texas. 
Habitat :    Prairies ;    fields,  meadows, 

pastures,  waste  places. 


In  spite  of  its  beauty  this  plant  is 
considered  a  bad  weed  throughout  its 
range,  for,  though  itself  but  one  or 
two  feet  tall,  it  has  long,  deep-run- 
ning, branching,  underground  stems, 
which,  from  the  axils  of  their  scales, 
send  up  many  flowering  shoots.  It  is 
especially  troublesome  in  grain  fields 
and  is  now  established  in  a  number 
of  eastern  localities,  the  seeds  having 
been  an  impurity  of  western  oats. 

Stem  erect,  slender,  bristling  with 
very  thin,  fine  prickles.  Leaflets 
seven  to  eleven,  obovate,  finely  and 
sharply  toothed,  smooth  on  both 
sides,  seldom  more  than  an  inch 
long ;  stipules  long  and  narrow,  some- 
times toothed  above,  and  more  or 
less  glandular.  Flowers  pink,  large, 


FIG.   156.  —  Prairie  Wild  Rose 
(Rosa  arkansana).     X  i- 


ROSACEAE  (ROSE  FAMILY)  217 

often  more  than  two  inches  broad,  occasionally  solitary  but  usually 
growing  in  open  corymbose  clusters.  Hips  globular,  smooth,  about  a 
half -inch  in  diameter,  crammed  with  hard,  hairy  achenes.  (Fig.  156. ) 

Means  of  control 

If  the  plants  are  young  and  few,  grub  out  the  colonies,  securing, 
if  possible,  every  shred  of  the  rootstocks ;  in  ground  rankly  infested, 
cut  the  stalks  from  the  rootstocks  with  a  very  sharp-bladed  plow 
in  the  hot  days  of  July.  New  shoots  will  promptly  appear,  which, 
at  intervals  of  not  more  than  two  weeks  —  ten  days  would  be 
better  —  must  be  disked,  or  cut  off  with  a  sharp  and  broad- 
bladed  cultivator,  in  order  to  keep  leaf  growth  from  feeding  the 
rootstocks.  Next  season  put  in  a  cultivated  crop  of  which  the 
tillage  will  constantly  keep  the  shoots  cut  off,  and  so  starve  the 
underground  stems. 

WILD   BLACK   CHERRY 

Primus  serotina,  Ehrh. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  the  stones,  or  pits. 

Time  of  bloom :   May  to  June. 

Seed-time:   A  drupe,  ripe  in  August  and  September. 

Range:    Nova  Scotia  to  Florida,  westward  to  the  Dakotas  and 

Arizona. 
Habitat :  Woodlands,  and  also  common  along  fence  rows,  roadsides, 

and  waste  places. 

The  Black  Cherry  is  often  a  large  tree  and  a  most  valuable  one 
to  dealers  in  fine  cabinet-making  woods.  It  has  reddish  brown 
twigs,  with  somewhat  bitter,  aromatic,  inner  bark.  The  leaves  are 
somewhat  thick  in  texture,  smooth  and  shining  on  the  upper  side, 
broadly  lance-shape  to  oblong,  taper-pointed,  the  teeth  incurved 
and  short.  The  flowers  are  white  and  grow  in  elongated  terminal 
racemes ;  the  fruits  which  follow  are  purplish  black  drupes, 
slightly  bitter  but  pleasant  to  the  taste. 

It  is  not  the  mature  tree  that  must  be  placed  .on  the  list  of  noxious 
plants,  but  its  numerous  progeny  of  young  shoots  which  spring 
up  everywhere  about  the  country.  Birds  are  very  fond  of  the 
juicy  fruits  and  eat  great  quantities,  voiding  the  stones  along 
fence  rows  and  telephone  lines,  with  the  result  that  those  land- 


218  LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 

marks  are  often  bordered  by  thickets  of  Black  Cherry  sprouts. 
The  leaves  of  this  and  kindred  plants,  under  certain  conditions, 
contain  a  dangerous  quantity  of  hydrocyanic  acid,  commonly  called 
prussic  acid,  a  most  virulent  poison.  When  eaten  by  cattle  and 
sheep,  the  complex  chemical  changes  that  take  place  within  the 
animals'  stomachs  liberate  the  poison,  frequently  with  fatal  effect. 
The  common  Choke  Cherry  (Primus  virginiana)  also  con- 
tains prussic  acid,  but  in  a  less  amount  than  the  Black  Cherry. 
Leaves  from  large  trees  or  old  but  stunted  shrubs  are  not  nearly  so 
dangerous  as  leaves  from  young,  rapidly  growing  sprouts.  Both 
fresh  and  wilted  leaves  are  poisonous,  but  chemists  have  demon- 
strated by  experiment  that  "Leaves  wilted  in  bright  sunlight  to 
about  75  per  cent  of  their  original  weight,  or  until  they  begin  to 
appear  slightly  limp  and  to  lose  their  gloss,  yield  the  maximum 
amount  of  prussic  acid."  It  is  stated  that  a  half-pound  of  Black 
Cherry  leaves  is  a  fatal  quantity  for  a  cow  to  eat,  and  a  much  less 
quantity  will  kill  a  sheep. 

Means  of  control 

Yearling  Cherry  sprouts  may  be  easily  and  quickly  pulled  when 
the  ground  is  soft,  leaving  no  stubs  to  put  forth  more  leaves.  Older, 
shrubby  growths  should  be  closely  cut,  or,  better,  grubbed  out, 
before  coming  into  leaf,  if  they  are  situated  where  cattle  or  sheep 
are  likely  to  browse  them.  Often  grazing  animals  will  eat  litter 
that  is  lying  on  the  ground,  even  though  they  have  not  contracted 
the  habit  of  browsing  from  standing  growth ;  therefore  all  the 
brush  cut  should  be  put  out  of  harm's  way  by  piling  and  burning. 

WILD   SENNA 
Cdssia  marildndica,  L. 

Other  English  names:   American  Senna,  Yellow  Locust  Plant. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  August. 

Seed-time:   September  to  October. 

Range:    New   England   to   Florida,   westward   to   Michigan   and 

Indiana. 
Habitat :  Moist,  open  ground ;   pastures  and  meadows. 

The  roots  of  Wild  Senna  are  spreading,  contorted,  woody,  and 
black,  mostly  horizontal,  but  yet  gathering  nourishment  from  the 


LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY)  219 

depths  through  a  mass  of  stringy  feeding  fibers,  also  black.  With 
such  a  food  reserve,  no  wonder  it  is  able  to  send  up  yearly  such  a 
quantity  of  growth  above  ground ;  for  each  plant  is  a  collection  of 
many  woody  stalks,  three  to  six  feet  tall,  erect,  slender,  pale  green, 
round,  smooth,  or  slightly  grooved  at  base ;  when  young,  both 
stems  and  leaf-stalks  may  be  slightly  hairy.  Leaves  alternate  and 
set  rather  far  apart,  pinnately  compound,  with  five  to  nine  pairs  of 
smooth,  oblong  leaflets,  dark  green  above  and  paler  below,  the 
edges  entire  and  the  midvein  extending  beyond  the  rounded  tip  in  a 
bristly  point ;  petioles  short,  yellow,  grooved  on  the  upper  side,  and 
having  a  prominent,  club-shaped  gland  set  just  above  the  swollen 
base.  Flowers  bright  yellow,  springing  in  many  loose  clusters 
from  the  upper  axils ;  calyx-lobes  five,  very  narrow  and  reflexed ; 
five  unequal  petals,  three  close  together  at  the  top,  the  two  below 
larger  and  spreading;  ten  yellow  stamens  with  filaments  of  dif- 
fering lengths,  tipped  with  brown  anthers  of  differing  sizes,  the 
three  lowermost  ones  largest.  Pods  about  three  inches  long,  flat, 
curved,  slightly  constricted  between  the  seeds,  hairy  when  young 
but  becoming  smooth  as  they  ripen,  and  turning  to  a  dark  reddish 
brown.  Seeds  flat,  dark  brown,  usually  four  to  eight  in  a  pod, 
possessed  of  very  long  vitality  when  in  the  soil.  A  Wild  Senna 
plant  in  bloom  has  a  look  of  elegance,  as  though  it  cared  for  its 
own  fine  appearance.  Grazing  animals  leave  it  undisturbed,  or  if 
scarcity  of  forage  drive  them  to  browse  its  leaves  they  suffer  from 
"scours"  as  it  has  a  strong  cathartic  action.  It  is  one  of  the 
medicinal  plants,  and  its  leaflets,  stripped  from  their  stalks  at 
.  flowering  time  and  carefully  dried,  may  be  sold  in  the  drug  market 
for  six  to  eight  cents  a  pound. 

Means  of  control 

If  the  plants  are  few  they  may  be  grubbed  out,  but  if  plentiful 
this  would  be  a  task  for  Hercules.  Cutting  close  to  the  ground  at 
the  time  of  bloom,  repeating  the  operation  as  the  roots  send  up  more 
stalks,  will  finally  exhaust  their  vitality ;  but  the  treatment  must  be 
so  persistent  as  to  allow  no  opportunity  for  storing  fresh  nutriment. 
Dry  salt  on  the  cut  surfaces  will  help  to  check  new  growth ;  or  the 
plants  may  be  wholly  and  promptly  destroyed  by  the  use  of 
caustic  soda  or  hot  brine  about  the  roots,  leaving  the  ground 
barren  for  a  season. 


220 


LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 


COFFEE  SENNA 
Cassia  occidentalis,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Negro  Coffee,  Magdad  Coffee. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   July  to  August. 

Seed-time:   August  to  September. 

Range:   Virginia  to  Indiana  and  southward  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Habitat:   Meadows  and  pastures,  waste  places. 

Like  the  Partridge  Pea  and  the  Wild  Senna,  this  weed  is  strongly 
cathartic,  and  its  young  shoots,  when  harvested  with  hay  greatly 
damage  the  quality,  as  animals  feed- 
ing on  it  are  subject  to  "scours." 
The  plant  is  an  immigrant  from 
tropical  America,  and  seems  to 
have  become  acclimated  during  its 
slow  northward  march. 

Stems  erect,  smooth,  light  green, 
much  branched,  and  three  to  six 
feet  tall.  Leaves  pinnately  com- 
pound with  four  to  six  pairs  of 
smooth,  long-pointed,  ovate  leaf- 
lets, one  to  two  inches  long;  the 
slender  petioles  are  lighter  than 
the  leaflets,  and  near  the  base  of 
each  is  an  egg-shaped,  brownish 
yellow  gland.  Flowers  in  short, 
branching,  axillary  clusters ;  each 
blossom  about  a  half-inch  broad, 
(Cassia  wjtn  gve  Spreaciing  yellow  petals 
more  nearly  equal  than  those  of 
the  perennial  Wild  Senna ;  ten  brown  anthers,  the  upper  three  of 
which  are  dwarfed  and  imperfect ;  calyx-lobes  oblong,  obtuse. 
Pods  smooth  and  slender,  slightly  curved,  four  to  six  inches  long 
and  about  a  quarter-inch  wide,  with  thickened  border;  each 
contains  about  a  dozen  small  brown  seeds,  which  retain  their 
vitality  in  the  soil  for  at  least  two  years  and  probably  longer. 
(Fig.  157.) 


LEGU MINOS AE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 


221 


Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production  by  early  and  persistent  cutting  through- 
out the  growing  season,  treating  the  shorn  surfaces  with  salt  for 
the  discouragement  of  new  growth.  For  small  areas,  newly  in- 
fested, hand-pulling  is  a  paying  process. 


PARTRIDGE   PEA 

Cassia  Chamcecrista,  L. 

Other  English  name:   Large-flowered  Sensitive  Pea. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:  September  to  November. 

Range:    Massachusetts  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  the  Gulf  of 

Mexico. 
Habitat :  Dry,  sandy  soil ;  fields,  meadows,  pastures,  roadsides,  and 

waste  places ;   most  troublesome  in  the  Southwest. 

Pastures  rankly  infested  with  this  weed  are  nearly  useless,  for  it  is 
strongly  cathartic  and  when  eaten  in  any  quantity  by  cattle  and 
sheep  they  "scour"  very  badly ;  grazing  horses  are  sickened  in  the 
same  way  and  must  be  relieved  by 
change  of  forage.  Young  stalks  are 
often  mown  and  baled  with  the  hay  of 
infested  meadows,  causing  the  same 
trouble  when  the  fodder  is  used  in 
winter. 

The  plant  is  low  and  spreading,  often 
branching  wider  than  its  height  of  one 
or  two  feet.  When  young  the  stem 
may  be  sparsely  hairy,  but  usually  it  is 
smooth  and  pale  green.  Leaves  pin- 
nately  compound,  composed  of  ten  to 
fifteen  pairs  of  small,  entire,  lance- 
shaped  leaflets  each  tipped  with  a 
sharp  bristle;  petioles  short,  with  per- 
sistent, awl- shaped  stipules  and  having 
near  the  base  a  sessile  gland.  The 
leaves  are  sensitive,  and  at  night  FIG.  158.  —  Partridge  Pea 
"go  to  sleep"  by  folding  their  blades  (Cassia  Chamcecrista).  x  i. 


222  LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 

face  to  face  and  drooping  against  the  stalk.  Flowers  large, 
often  more  than  an  inch  across,  lifted  on  slender  peduncles 
from  the  upper  axils,  singly  or  in  clusters  of  two  or  three; 
they  are  bright  golden  yellow,  but  often  two  or  three  of  the 
rounded  petals  are  spotted  with  purple  at  the  base,  and  usually 
six  of  the  anthers  are  purple  and  four  are  yellow.  Pods 
slender,  about  two  inches  long,  slightly  hairy;  when  ripe,  they 
split  apart  with  a  slightly  twisting  action  by  which  the  seeds 
are  thrown  a  short  distance  from  the  parent  plant ;  so  that  next 
year,  where  one  weed  grew  there  will  be  a  little  patch.  (Fig.  158.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  development  of  seed.  Postpone  all  other  work  for  a  day 
and  cut  the  Partridge  Pea  patches  on  noting  the  first  golden  bloom. 
Repeat  the  operation  with  the  new  growth  which  follows,  and  as 
soon  as  all  dormant  seed  in  the  ground  has  stirred  into  life  and  been 
given  like  treatment  the  trouble  will  be  ended.  New  infestations 
should  be  promptly  pulled  or  cut  before  any  seed  is  formed.  Ground 
on  which  plants  have  been  allowed  to  mature  and  scatter  seeds 
should  be  burned  over  in  order  to  destroy  them. 


RATTLE-BOX 
Crotalaria  sagittdlis,  L. 

Other' English  names:   Rattleweed,  Wild  Pea. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   June  to  July. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:   Massachusetts  to  Florida,  along  the  coast;    bottom  lands 

of  the  Missouri  River  in  South  Dakota,  Iowa,  Nebraska,  Kansas, 

and  northern  Texas. 
Habitat :   Rich,  moist  soil ;   pastures  and  meadows. 

This  plant  is  the  cause  of  a  sickness,  called  Crotalism  by  veterina- 
rians and  Missouri  Bottom  Disease  by  the  farmers,  which  is  often 
fatal  to  horses  and  sometimes  also  to  cattle,  though  deaths  are  less 
frequent  with  the  latter  than  with  horses.  The  poisonous  principle 
is  in  both  leaves  and  seeds,  and  is  not  dissipated  by  drying  but  seems 
to  be  even  more  potent  in  plants  that  have  been  harvested  with 


LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 


223 


hay  than  in  those  that  are  green  in  the  field.  Its  action  is  slow, 
often  several  weeks  intervening  before  death.  If  recovery  comes  it 
is  not  complete,  the  animal  being  never  so  well  again  as  before  the 
attack  of  Crotalism.  The  weed  is  a  relative  of  the  dreaded  Loco- 
weed  of  the  plains,  but  does  not  cause  the  animals  to  "go  plumb 
crazy, "  as  does  that  plant.  (Fig.  159.) 

The  plant  is  small,  seldom  more  than  a  foot  in  height,  with  a 
much-branched  and  hairy  stem  growing 
from  a  small,  straight  root.  Leaves 
alternate,  nearly  sessile,  lance-shaped, 
one  or  two  inches  long,  pointed  at  both 
ends,  entire  or  slightly  wavy,  with  edges 
softly  hairy ;  they  have  curious  stipules, 
shaped  like  an  arrow-head,  point  down, 
with  the  ears  sticking  up  on  each  side  of 
the  leaf  and  the  point  decurrent  on  the 
stem  for  a  part  of  its  length.  Flowers 
yellow  and  very  small,  shaped  like  pea- 
blossoms,  that  is,  with  a  corolla  of  five 
irregular  petals,  the  upper  one  larger 
than  the  others,  and  enclosing  them  in 
the  bud ;  this  broad  upright  petal  is 
called  the  standard  and  is  usually  turned 
backward ;  two  lateral  petals  or  wings, 
obliquely  spread  and  outside  of  the 
two  lower  ones  which  cohere  at  their 
edges,  forming  the  keel,  which  usually 
encloses  the  stamens  and  pistil.  In  this 
species  the  stamens  are  ten,  one  separate  and  nine  of  them  united 
into  a  tube,  cleft  on  its  upper  side,  the  anthers  of  two  lengths  and 
sizes,  alternating  with  each  other;  calyx  two-lipped,  the  two 
upper  lobes  broadest,  all  five  long-pointed  and  softly  hairy.  The 
flowers  grow  in  clusters  of  two  or  three  on  slender,  axillary  pe- 
duncles. Pods  black,  very  hard  and  brittle,  about  an  inch  long 
but  swollen  much  larger  than  the  small,  black  seeds  within,  which 
break  from  their  hold  when  ripe  and  rattle  about  inside  the  stiff, 
thin  walls.  In  winter  these  light  pods  are  blown  long  distances 
over  the  snow,  and  they  can  float  like  a  boat  on  water. 


j.  159.  —  Rattlebox  (Cro- 
talaria  sagittalis) .     X  3. 


224  LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 

Means  of  control 

Let  the  infested  meadows  be  cleansed  by  fire,  burning  them  over 
in  August  or  at  the  time  of  maturing  seeds,  thus  destroying  all  this 
year's  plants  and  their  progeny  while  not  seriously  harming  the 
roots  of  the  perennial  grasses.  If  next  year  some  seeds  that  have 
lain  dormant  in  the  soil  spring  up,  see  that  the  plants  are  either  cut 
or  pulled  before  seed  development.  Or,  if  too  numerous  for  that, 
repeat  the  flaming  purification.  On  lands  that  are  not  in  danger  of 
washing  and  can  safely  be  put  under  the  plow,  a  cultivated  crop 
requiring  careful  hoe-culture  should  be  grown  before  reseeding 
heavily  with  better  forage.  No  annual  plant  so- dangerous  to  the 
health  of  grazing  animals  should  be  allowed  to  survive. 

DYER'S   GREENWEED 
Genista  tinctoria,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Woad-waxen,  Dyer's 
Broom,  Dyer's  Whin,  Base  Broom,  Alleluia. 

Introduced.  Perennial.  Propagates  by  seeds 
and  by  woody,  creeping  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  July. 

Seed-time:   July  to  August. 

Range:  Maine  to  Massachusetts  and  eastern 
New  York. 

Habitat:   Dry  uplands. 

Time  was  when  the  clothing  of  a  New  Eng- 
land household  was  spun,  woven,  and  dyed  at 
home ;    then  the  Genista  was  cultivated  as  a 
useful  and  necessary  plant.     Used  by  itself,  it 
colored  woolen   cloth  yellow;    combined  with 
Woad    (I satis   tinctoria),  a  blue-dye   plant    of 
the  Mustard  Family,  it  dyed  green.     But,  its 
usefulness  gone,   it  was   left  uncared  for   and 
"escaped,"    becoming   so    abundant    in    some 
localities  that  dry  upland  pastures  are  some- 
times yellow  in  summer  with  its  bloom.     Cattle 
F     ifio  —  D     '    ^^  eat  **  wnen  otner  forage  is  scarce,  with  the 
Greenweed   (Genista  result    that    its    bitter    taste    is    imparted   to 
tinctoria).  the  dairy  products.      (Fig.  160.) 


LEGU MINOS AE  (PULSE  FAMILY)  225 

Stems  usually  not  much  more  than  a  foot  high,  hard  and  woody, 
branching  freely  from  the  base,  round,  ridged,  and  without  thorns. 
Leaves  alternate,  lance-shape  to  elliptic,  sessile,  entire,  smooth  and 
shining.  Flowers  in  spiked  racemes,  each  flower  about  a  half-inch 
long,  like  a  golden-yellow  pea-blossom,  sessile,  with  a  small  bract  at 
its  base.  Pods  about  an  inch  long,  smooth,  and  flat,  each  contain- 
ing several  seeds  which  are  very  long-lived. 

Means  of  control 

Frequent  and  persistent  cutting  close  to  the  ground,  beginning 
at  the  first  bloom  and  allowing  no  leaf-growth  throughout  the  grow- 
ing season.  More  than  one  season  of  such  persistent  root-starva- 
tion may  be  required  in  order  to  subdue  the  weed,  but,  if  not 
permitted  to  refill  its  underground  storehouses  with  sustenance,  it 
must  succumb. 

WILD   LUPINE 
Luplnus  perennis,  L. 

Other  English  names :  Sun  Dial,  Wild  Pea,  Old  Maid's  Bonnets. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   May  to  June. 

Seed-time:   Late  June  to  August. 

Range:   Maine  and  Ontario  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  the  Gulf 

of  Mexico. 
Habitat :    Dry,   sandy  soil ;    meadows,   woodland  borders,   waste 

places. 

A  beautiful  plant,  often  cultivated  in  eastern  gardens.  It  is 
very  commonly  called  Sun  Dial  because  the  leaves  always  face  that 
luminary,  the  leaflets  sometimes  rotating  ninety  degrees  on  their 
own  axes ;  and  at  night  they  take  a  position  as  if  for  sleep,  folding 
downward  around  the  stem.  The  roots  penetrate  the  soil  to  a  great 
depth,  finding  moisture  to  keep  the  plant  green  and  flourishing, 
even  in  late  summer  when  neighboring  plants  suffer  from  drought. 
(Fig.  161.) 

Stems  erect,  rather  stout  and  succulent,  slightly  hairy,  ten  to 
eighteen  inches  tall.  Leaves  lifted  on  long,  slim  petioles ;  pal- 
mately  compound,  with  seven  to  eleven  softly  downy,  sessile  leaf- 
lets, widest  near  the  tip  and  tapering  to  the  base,  the  midrib  of 


226 


LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 


each  extending  beyond  the  tip  in  a  minute, 
bristly  point.  Flowers  numerous  and  very 
showy,  on  long  terminal  racemes,  the 
corollas  purplish  blue,  sometimes  white; 
shaped  like  pea-blossoms,  with  standard 
turned  backward  at  the  sides,  the  wings 
united  and  enclosing  the  small,  curved 
keel ;  stamen  tube  not  cleft,  its  anthers 
of  two  forms ;  style  incurved ;  calyx  two- 
lipped  and  deeply  toothed.  Pods  broad, 
flat,  very  hairy,  about  an  inch  and  a  half 
long,  two-valved,  splitting  in  spiral  coils 
at  maturity  and  flinging  to  some  distance 
the  four  or  five  seeds  contained ;  these 
have  long  vitality,  often  remaining  dor- 
mant in  the  soil  for  many  years.  The 
seeds  are  also  said  to  be  very  unwhole- 
some for  grazing  animals,  though  not  so 
dangerously  harmful  as  those  of  its  west- 
ern relatives. 

FIG.  161. —  Wild  Lupine 
(Lupinus  perennial.    X  I      Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  development  by  cutting  before  the  first  flowers 
mature.  Hay  containing  Lupines  is  wholesome  if  it  contains  no 
ripe  seeds.  The  perennial  roots  may  be  destroyed  by  cultivation  of 
the  land,  which  should  be  put  to  a  well-fertilized  and  well-tilled 
hoed  crop  before  reseeding  with  clover  or  grass. 


NEBRASKA   LUPINE 

Lupinus  plattensis,  S.  Wats. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom:  June  to  July. 

Seed-time:   July  to  August. 

Range:   Nebraska,  Wyoming,  and  the  Dakotas. 

Habitat :   Plains ;   pastures  and  meadows. 

Lupines  furnish  western  stockmen  with  much  nutritious  green 
forage  and  good  hay.     They  are  especially  valuable  in  the  late  fall, 


LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 


227 


when  they  remain  green  and  succulent  after  grasses  and  other 
plants  have  become  dry.  But  observation  and  experiment  have 
demonstrated  that,  during  the  time  of  seed  development,  Lupines 
are  very  injurious  to  grazing  animals,  particularly  sheep.  Cattle 
usually  reject  the  seeds,  selecting  the  leafy  parts  of  the  plant  which 
seem  to  contain  little,  if  any,  of  the  poisonous  property ;  but  the 
seeds  and  pods  contain  a  dangerous  quantity 
of  a  substance  known  as  lupinotoxin,  which 
causes  a  disease  called  lupinosis,  the  acute 
form  of  which  may  cause  death  in  a  few 
hours,  sometimes  less  than  one.  Sheep  seem 
to  have  a  preference  for  the  pods,  often  nib- 
bling them  from  the  plants  and  leaving  the 
rest.  Cornevin  states  that  in  1880  more 
than  fourteen  thousand  sheep  died  of  this 
complaint  in  Germany,  where  Lupines  of 
several  species  are  much  used  as  forage  and 
for  reclaiming  sandy  soils  where  clover  does 
not  readily  "catch." 

This  is  rather  a  large  species,  one  to 
nearly  two  feet  tall,  the  stems  erect  and 
branching,  covered  with  fine,  appressed, 
silky  hairs  which  give  it  a  glaucous  ap- 
pearance. Leaves  on  rather  long  petioles, 
the  leaflets  seven  to  ten,  about  two  inches 
in  length,  short-spatulate,  usually  obtuse, 
smooth  above  but  appressed  hairy  beneath, 
giving  a  glaucous  appearance.  Racemes 

long  and  graceful,  the  flowers  large  and  not  Lup!n,e   (LuPinus  plat- 

tensis).     X  J. 

crowded   on   the    stalk,   pale    blue    or   pur- 
plish, the  standard  having  a  conspicuous  blotch  of  darker  color. 
Pods  numerous,  covered  with  appressed  hairs,  two-  to  five-seeded. 
(Fig.  162.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production  by  cutting  while  in  early  bloom  or 
even  before  flowering.  At  times  even  the  green  fodder  becomes 
dangerous,  causing  bloat  and  other  symptoms  of  unwholesomeness. 


FIG.  162.  —  Nebraska 


228  LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY} 

In  Europe,  where  stall-feeding  of  farm  animals  is  more  commonly 
practiced  than  in  this  country,  it  has  been  found  that  Lupine 
fodder  is  rendered  entirely  innocuous  by  steam  heating  under 
pressure,  which  at  the  same  time  makes  it  much  more  palatable 
and  fattening.  Dry  heat  does  not  destroy  the  poison.  In  many 
places  it  would  be  advisable  to  put  the  ground  under  cultivation 
with  the  purpose  of  replacing  these  plants  by  some  less  dangerous 
member  of  the  Legume  Family. 


SILVERY  LUPINE 
Luplnus  argenteus,  Pursh. 

Other  English  names:   Blue  Pea,  Blue  Bean. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  July  to  August. 

Seed-time:   August  to  September. 

Range:   Nebraska  and  the  Dakotas  to  the  plains  of  the  Columbia 

River,  southward  to  New  Mexico  and  Arizona. 
Habitat:  Prairies,  hillside  slopes ;   wild  pastures  and  meadows. 

On  the  sides  of  the  vast  foothills  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  this 
and  other  species  of  Lupines  often  completely  cover  the  ground  for 
miles,  and  when  in  bloom  the  wide  tracts  of  blue  flowers  are  visible 
at  a  great  distance.  If  the  plant  is  to  be  used  for  hay  it  should 
be  harvested  while  in  bloom,  or  else  very  late,  after  the  seeds 
have  ripened  and  been  cast  from  the  pods.  The  leaves  remain 
succulent  until  frost. 

This  is  a  very  variable  species  but  is  usually  a  somewhat  shrubby, 
bushy-branched  plant,  one  to  nearly  three  feet  in  height,  densely 
covered  with  fine,  silky,  appressed  hairs.  Leaves  on  slender 
petioles  about  as  long  as  the  blades,  the  leaflets  five  to  eight,  nearly 
smooth  above  but  silvery-hairy  beneath,  linear  to  lance-shaped  and 
pointed  at  both  ends.  Racemes  terminal,  usually  densely  flowered, 
two  to  five  inches  long ;  calyx-lips  unequal,  the  upper  one  rather 
broad,  two-toothed,  the  lower  one  longer  and  entire ;  petals  usually 
purple  but  sometimes  pale  blue  or  cream-colored,  the  standard  and 
keel  sometimes  finely  hairy.  Pods  about  an  inch  long,  silky-haired, 
three-  to  five-seeded. 

Means  of  control  should  be  similar  to  that  of  the  Nebraska  Lupine. 


LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY)  229 

LOW  LUPINE 
Lupinus  puslllus,  Pursh. 

Other  English  names :  Blue  Pea,  Low  Blue  Bean. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   April  to  June. 

Seed-time:    June  to  August. 

Range:  Kansas,  Nebraska,  and  the  Dakotas,  westward  through- 
out the  whole  Rocky  Mountain  region  to  the  Sierra  Nevadas, 
southward  to  Arizona  and  New  Mexico. 

Habitat :   Dry  soil ;   upland  pastures  and  meadows. 

A  low  but  rather  stout  plant,  four  to  eight  inches  tall,  the  stems 
diffusely  branched  from  the  base  and  covered  with  fine,  spreading 
hairs.  Leaves  on  slim  hairy  petioles  slightly  dilated  at  the  base ; 
leaflets  five  to  seven,  oblong,  sessile,  smooth  above  but  hairy  under- 
neath, little  more  than  an  inch  in  length  and  tapering  toward  the 
base  from  slightly  wider  tips.  Racemes  terminal,  one  to  three  inches 
long,  on  very  short  peduncles,  the  pea-like  flowers  closely  crowded, 
small,  about  a  quarter-inch  in  length,  deep  blue.  Pods  about 
three-fourths  of  an  inch  long,  densely  hairy,  tipped  with  an  awl-like 
beak,  usually  two-seeded. 

Low  Lupines  furnish  an  immense  amount  of  good  forage  in 
spring  and  in  autumn,  but  during  the  season  of  seed  development 
they  are  considered  dangerously  unwholesome  for  grazing  animals, 
particularly  sheep. 

Means  of  control 

As  the  plant  is  an  annual,  the  persistent  prevention  of  seed  devel- 
opment by  frequent  close  cutting  will  destroy  it.  Dormant  seeds 
may  furnish  a  subsequent  crop,  which  should  have  similar  treatment. 


RABBIT-FOOT   CLOVER 

Trifblium  arvense,  L. 

Other  English  names :  Stone  Clover,  Old-field  Clover,  Pussy  Clover, 

Hare-foot  Clover. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  May  to  July. 
Seed-time:   June  to  August. 


230 


LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 


Range:   Throughout  eastern  North  America. 

Habitat:    Meadows,   pastures,   grain  fields,   roadsides,   and  waste 
places. 

Stone  Clover  usually  grows  and  is  able  to  thrive  on  very  dry, 
sandy,  and  gravelly  soils,  and  it  is  a  pity  that  it  is  not  a  better 
fodder  plant.  But  its  excessive  hairiness 
causes  cattle  to  dislike  it  and  even  makes 
it  dangerous,  particularly  when  eaten  by 
horses,  as  the  fuzzy  flower-heads  some- 
times collect  into  felt-like,  compact  masses 
called  phytobezoars,  or  hair-balls,  closing 
the  intestines  and  occasionally  causing  a 
very  distressful  form  of  death. 

Stem  six  inches  to  a  foot  high,  erect, 
slender,  much  branched,  covered  with 
fine,  silky,  gray  hair.  Leaves  alternate 
palmately  three-foliolate,  with  short  peti- 
oles and  narrow,  awl-shaped  stipules  ; 
leaflets  narrowly  oblong  or  wedge-shaped, 
about  an  inch  in  length,  obtuse  or  often 
notched  at  the  tips.  Flowers  in  dense, 
nearly  cylindrical  heads,  a  half-inch  to  an 
inch  long,  on  slender,  terminal  peduncles  ; 
corolla  white  or  pinkish  but  hidden  by 
^  ca,yx.lobes>  which  extend  far  beyond 

it  in  five  slender,  awl-like  points,  thickly 
fringed  with  silky  gray  or  pale  reddish  hairs.  Pods  very  tiny,  con- 
taining one  or  two  seeds  which  are  a  frequent  impurity  of  other 
clover  seeds  and  of  grasses  and  grain.  (Fig.  163.) 

Means  of  control 

Enrich  and  cultivate  the  ground,  seeding  heavily  to  other  and 
better  members  of  the  Clover  Family.  When  Stone  Clover  is 
cured  with  hay,  the  danger  from  hair-balls  is  averted  by  cutting 
before  the  heads  are  matured.  Also  such  prevention  of  seed- 
ing will  cleanse  the  ground  of  the  weed,  if  persistently  re- 
peated until  all  dormant  seeds  have  germinated  and  been  thus 
destroyed. 


FIG.  163.  —  Rabbit-foot 
Clover  (Trifolium  arvense). 


LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 


231 


YELLOW   OR  HOP   CLOVER 

Trifblium  agrarium,  L. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:    June  to  August. 
Seed-time:   July  to  September. 

Range:    Nova  Scotia  and  Ontario  to  Michigan  and  Iowa,  south- 
ward to  Virginia. 
Habitat:   Meadows,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

Were  there  no  larger  and  better  Clovers,  this  plant  could  not  be 
characterized  as  a  weed  ;  but,  as  it  is,  the  places  that  it  holds  might 
be  better  occupied,  and  its  seeds  are  a  frequent 
impurity  among  those  of  its  larger  relatives. 
Stems  smooth,  slender,  branching,  usually  erect, 
six  to  fifteen  inches  in  height.  Leaves  light 
green,  on  petioles  but  little  longer  than  the 
cohering,  narrow,  lance-shaped  stipules ;  the  leaf- 
lets all  grow  from  the  same  point,  and  are  sessile, 
about  a  half-inch  in  length,  obovate  or  oblong, 
and  edged  with  very  minute  teeth.  Heads 
axillary  on  peduncles  much  longer  than  the 
leaves ;  they  are  small,  oblong,  rounded,  densely 
crowded,  golden  yellow,  the  flowers  having  rather 
narrow,  incurled  standards  and  short,  blunt  keels  ; 
the  corollas  are  persistent  and  each  flower  turns 
downward  on  the  stalk  as  it  is  fertilized,  finally 
becoming  dry  and  brown,  the  withered  heads 
resembling  small  dried  hops.  The  pods  are  one- 
seeded.  (Fig.  164.) 


FIG.  164.  —  Yel- 
low or  Hop  Clover 
(Trifolium  agra- 
rium). X  \. 


Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  development  and  distribution  by  early  and  frequent 
cutting.  Cultivate  and  reseed  the  ground  with  larger  and  better 
forage  plants. 

LOW  HOP   CLOVER 

Trifdlium  proctimbens,  L. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   May  to  September. 


232  LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 

Seed-time:   June  to  October. 

Range :  Throughout  the  United  States  and  southern  British  America. 

Habitat:   Fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

Still  more  weedy  and  valueless  than  the  preceding  species, 
mature  plants  in  dry  and  exposed  situations  sometimes  becoming 
tumble-weeds.  Stems  many  from  the  same  root,  slender,  finely 
ridged,  hairy,  weak  and  reclining,  three  to  ten  inches  long.  Leaves 
small  with  short  petioles,  and  broadly  ovate,  pointed,  cohering 
stipules  ;  leaflets  short,  wedge-shaped  at  base,  rounded  truncate  or 
notched  at  the  apex,  shorter  than  those  of  the  preceding  species, 
and  differing  also  in  having  the  lateral  ones  sessile  but  the  terminal 
one  on  a  distinct  foot-stalk.  Heads  globose,  scarcely  more  than 
a  third  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  lifted  much  above  the  leaves 
on  slender,  axillary  peduncles ;  corolla  bright  yellow,  the  standard 
broader  than  long,  spreading,  and  persistent,  becoming  reflexed, 
and  turning  brown,  exceeding  and  covering  the  small,  one-seeded 
pod. 

Means  of  control 

Graze  off  with  sheep,  so  preventing  seed  development.  Put  the 
land  under  cultivation  and  reseed  heavily  with  larger  and  better 
plants  of  the  Clover  Family. 


WHITE   SWEET-CLOVER 
Melilbtus  dlba,  Desv. 

Other  English  names:    White  Melilot,  Tree  Clover,  Cabul  Clover, 

Bokhara  Clover,  Honeylotus. 
Introduced.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:  June  to  October. 
Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range:   Throughout  North  America  except  the  far  North. 
Habitat :   Roadsides  and  waste  places ;   common  about  towns. 

The  Sweet-clovers  are  natives  of  Central  Asia  but  came  to  us 
from  Mediterranean  Europe,  where  for  centuries  they  have  been 
grown  for  forage  and  as  honey  plants.  Weeds  only  when  they  are 
permitted  to  make  highways  and  by-places  unsightly  with  thickets 
of  dying  stalks.  Their  good  qualities  are  many.  First,  they  are 


LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 


233 


"soil  renovators,"  partly  by  reason  of  their  large  and  deeply 
penetrating  roots,  which  break  up  the  soil,  mellow,  aerate,  and 
drain  it,  and  then,  by  their  death  and  rapid  decay,  furnish  it  with 
humus  ;  also  they  bear  on  their  roots  many  tubercles  in  which  live 
those  beneficent,  nitrogen-gathering  bacteria  that  make  the  earth 
better  for  their  having  lived  in  it.  For  this  reason,  Sweet-clover  is 
often  used  to  prepare  the  ground  for  the  growing  of  Alfalfa.  The 
hay  is  nutritious,  but  cattle  do  not  like  its 
strong  odor  and  will  not  eat  it  until  they  have 
been  "educated  to  the  taste,"  which  is  usually 
done  by  turning  them  into  the  Sweet-clover 
field  early  in  spring,  when  no  other  green 
forage  is  available.  (Fig.  165.) 

Stems  three  to  ten  feet  tall,  round,  slender, 
somewhat  woody,  many-branched,  smooth 
except  the  young  growing  twigs,  which  are 
finely  hairy.  Leaves  pinnately  three-foliolate, 
the  leaflets  oblong  to  elliptic,  obtuse  or  some- 
times even  notched  at  the  tip,  very  finely 
toothed,  the  foot-stalk  of  the  middle  one 
bent  slightly  upward  ;  petioles  usually  shorter 
than  the  blades.  Flowers  in  long,  slender, 
one-sided,  axillary  racemes,  white  and  very 
fragrant;  corolla  about  a  quarter-inch  long, 
with  narrow  petals,  the  standard  longer  than 
the  wings  or  the  keel.  Pods  ovoid,  wrinkled, 
net-veined,  one-  or  two-seeded.  When  in  the 
soil  the  seeds  are  said  to  retain  their  vitality  FIG.  165.  —  White 
for  fifty  years  or  more ;  they  are  sometimes  Sweet-clover  (Melilo- 

,  iic         i          11  tus  alba) .     X  J. 

used  by  unscrupulous  dealers  for  the  adulter- 
ation of  Alfalfa  seed,  which  is  somewhat  similar  in  appearance 
but  much  more  expensive. 

Means  of  control 

Close  cutting  as  soon  as  the  first  flowers  open ;  the  plants  will 
immediately  sprout  thick  stools  of  flowering  stalks,  requiring  a 
second  and  perhaps  a  third  cutting,  but  if  no  seed  is  allowed  to 
mature  and  drop  into  the  soil  there  will  be  no  further  trouble,  for 


234  LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 

when  it  has  flowered  the  plant  dies.     Small  areas  may  be  more 
quickly  hand-pulled. 

YELLOW  SWEET-CLOVER 

Melilbtus  officindlis,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Yellow  Melilot,  Hart's  Clover,  King's  Clover, 

Balsam-flowers. 

Introduced.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:  June  to  October. 
Seed-time:   August  to  November. 
Range :  Throughout  North  America  except  the 

far  North. 
Habitat :  Roadsides  and  waste  places  ;  common 

about  towns. 

A  smaller  plant  than  the  preceding  species 
with  stems  two  to  five  feet  tall,  slender,  erect, 
with  many  spreading  branches,  the  growing 
twigs  finely  hairy.  Leaflets  oblong-obovate, 
with  rounded  tips,  edges  finely  toothed ;  peti- 
oles nearly  as  long  as  the  blades.  Flowers 
bright  yellow,  in  long,  one-sided,  axillary  ra- 
cemes, the  blossoms  slightly  larger  than  those 
of  White  Melilot  but  less  fragrant,  the  stand- 
ard and  wings  of  nearly  equal  length ;  the  plant 
often  flowers  a  week  in  advance  of  its  white 
sister  and  holds  in  bloom  somewhat  later, 
which  wins  for  it  the  liking  of  bee-keepers. 
Pods  ovoid,  transversely  wrinkled,  net-veined, 
often  slightly  hairy,  one-  or  two-seeded.  (Fig. 

FIG.  166.— Yellow          *?'; 
Sweet-clover   (Meli-        Means    of   control    the   same   as  for   vvhite 
lotus  offidnalis) .  x  |.    Sweet-clover. 

BLACK   MEDICK 

Medicdgo  lupullna,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Yellow  Trefoil,   Hop  Medick,   None-such, 

Black-seed  Hop  Clover. 
Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 


LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 


235 


Time  of  bloom :   March  to  December. 

Seed-time:   May  until  snow-covered. 

Range :   Throughout  the  world  in  all  temperate  regions. 

Habitat:   Fields,  meadows,  waste  places. 

Properly  speaking,  this  plant  cannot  be  called  a  weed,  further 
than  that  it  is  much  less  valuable  for  hay  and  forage  than  its  larger 
relatives.  Also  the  hulled  seeds,  though  a  trifle  smaller,  bear  a 
strong  resemblance  to  those  of  its  tall  perennial  sister,  the  Alfalfa 
(Medicago  satlva,  L.),  and  unscrupulous  dealers 
use  them  to  adulterate  the  expensive  Alfalfa 
seed.  Grazing  animals  eat  the  plant  readily 
and  it  makes  good  pasture.  (Fig.  167.) 

Stems  slender,  softly  hairy,  one  to  two  feet 
long,  procumbent,  branching  at  the  base  and 
spreading  on  all  sides,  with  many  shorter 
branches  which  are  usually  ascending.  Leaves 
pinnately  three-foliolate,  also  finely  hairy,  with 
rather  long  petioles,  the  leaflets  obovate, 
rounded  and  slightly  toothed  at  the  tips, 
seldom  more  than  a  half-inch  in  length.  Flowers 
only  about  one  line  long,  bright  yellow,  in  small, 
oblong,  dense  heads  or  spikes  about  a  quarter- 
inch  thick  and  usually  about  twice  as  long. 
Pods  thin-skinned,  kidney-shaped,  net-veined 
and  ridged,  slightly  twisted,  containing  one  seed, 

black  when  ripe. 

FIG.  167.— Black 
Medick    (Medicago 
Means  of  control  lupulina).    x  J. 

Cultivation  of  the  land  and  reseeding  heavily  with  larger  and 
more  valuable  members  of  the  Clover  Family,  which  will  crowd 
out  any  renewal  of  the  Medick  from  dormant  seed. 


BUR   CLOVER 

Medicago  hispida,  Gaertn. 
(Medicago  denticulata,  Willd.) 

Other  English  names:   Toothed  Medick,  Winter  Medick. 
Introduced.     Annual  or  biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 


236  LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 

Time  of  bloom:  May  to  July. 
Seed-time:  July  to  September. 
Range:  Nova  Scotia  and  Ontario  to  Florida  and  Texas.  Also  on 

the  Pacific  coast  and  in  Arizona. 
Habitat :   Cultivated  crops,  grain  fields,  meadows,  waste  lands. 

This  plant  is  often  cultivated  in  the  South  and  West  for  a  cover 
crop  and  green  manure,  and  also  for  winter  forage.  These  pur- 
poses it  serves  very  well,  particularly  if  it  is  used  while  young, 
before  the  approach  of  the  fruiting  season  causes  the  stems 
to  become  woody  and  innutritious ;  but  its  hooked  burs 
greatly  damage  the  fleeces  of  sheep,  and  the 
long  vitality  of  its  dormant  seeds  causes  the 
plant  to  retain  possession  of  the  ground 
when  it  is  desired  for  other  crops.  (Fig. 
168.) 

Stems  six  inches  to  two  feet  long,  branched 
at  the  base,  some  prostrate  and  some 
ascending,  spreading  in  all  directions. 
Leaves  smooth,  with  obovate  or  broadly 
wedge-shaped  leaflets,  rounded  and  finely 
toothed  at  the  tips ;  petioles  slender  and 
variable  in  length,  with  toothed  stipules. 
Heads  one-  to  three-flowered,  on  peduncles 
shorter  than  the  leaves,  the  corollas  bright 
yellow  and  about  a  quarter-inch  long. 
Pods  several-seeded,  twisted  in  a  loose 
spiral  of  two  or  three  coils,  strongly  net- 
veined,  flattened,  with  thin  keeled  edge 
bordered  with  a  double  row  of  hooked 
spines. 

Means  of  control 

FIG.  168.  —  Bur  Clo-        Burn  over  the  ground  where  plants  have 
ver^Medicago  hispida).     matured   seedg  jn  order   to   degtroy  the  burg 

on  the  surface  before  plowing  for  other 
crops,  which  should  be  such  as  will  require  very  thorough  tillage. 
Seed  the  ground  with  other  and  better  clovers  that  will  supersede 
this  one. 


LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 


237 


BIRD'S-FOOT   TREFOIL 
Lotus  corniculatus,  L. 

Other    English    names:     Bloom-fell,    Ground    Honeysuckle,    Cat's 

Clover,  Crow-toes,  Sheep-foot. 
Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   June  to  September. 
Seed-time:   July  to  October. 
Range:   Waste  places  and  on  ballast  in  New  Brunswick  and  Nova 

Scotia,  about  the  seaports  of  Eastern  and  Middle  States. 
Habitat :   Waste  places ;   in  a  few  instances  invading  fields. 

An  emigrant  from  Europe,  where  it  is  a  widely  distributed  and 
very  troublesome  weed,  native  to  Asia.  It  has  a  long,  deep-boring 
root  which  renders  it  very  resistant 
to  drought,  and  a  spreading  habit,  of 
growth  which  enables  it  to  crowd  out 
all  better  plants  growing  with  it.  It 
is  not  considered  poisonous,  and  has 
even  been  cultivated  as  a  forage 
plant  in  some  localities  in  the  South, 
but  grazing  animals  suffer  from  bloat 
and  indigestion  when  they  eat  very 
much  of  it.  (Fig.  169.) 

Stems  many  from  the  same  root, 
slender,  hairy,  some  erect  and  others 
prostrate,  four  inches  to  two  feet  long. 
Leaves  sessile  or  nearly  so,  pinnately 
compound,  consisting  of  five  small, 
oblong  leaflets,  the  basal  pair  appear- 
ing like  large  stipules,  the  other  three 
like  a  trefoil  at  the  end  of  the  stalk,  or  rachis.  Flowers  numerous, 
in  showy,  umbellate  heads  lifted  on  slender  peduncles  three  to  six 
inches  long ;  corolla  about  a  half-inch  long,  bright  yellow,  or  the 
standard  a  coppery  red.  Pods  linear,  nearly  an  inch  long,  each 
containing  several  shining,  light  brown  seeds. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  development  and  starve  the  roots  by  close  and 
repeated  cuttings  from  the  time  of  flowering  until  the  end  of  the 


FIG.  169.  —  Bird's-foot    Trefoil 
(Lotus  corniculatus).     X  5. 


238  LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 

growing  season.     Small  areas  should  be  hand-pulled  or  grubbed  out 
while  in  early  bloom. 

HOARY  PEA 

Tephrosia  virginidna,  Pers. 
(Crdcca  virginidna,  L.) 

Other  English  names:    Wild  Sweet  Pea,  Turkey  Pea,  Goat's  Rue, 

Catgut,  Devil's  Shoe-strings. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  slender,  creeping 

rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom :   June  to  July. 
Seed-time:   August  to  September. 
Range:    Ontario  to  Manitoba,  southward  to  Florida,  Texas,  and 

Mexico. 
Habitat:   Dry  upland  meadows,  pastures,  and  woodland  borders. 

It  is  fortunate  that  this  plant  has  a  preference  for  dry,  sandy,  and 
sterile  soil,  for  the  long,  slender,  and  very  tough  rootstocks,  which 
have  given  it  the  common  names  of 
Catgut  and  Devil's  Shoe-strings,  cause 
it  to  grow  in  large  clumps  or  patches 
and  make  it  very  difficult  to  extermi- 
nate where  it  is  well  established.  (Fig. 
170.) 

Stems  erect,  tufted,  simple,  ridged, 
hard  and  woody  at  the  base,  one  to 
two  feet  high,  leafy  to  the  top.  The 
whole  plant  is  covered  with  soft,  silky, 
whitish  hairs,  especially  when  young, 
making  the  foliage  ashen-gray  or  hoary. 
Leaves  alternate,  odd-pinnate,  with 
seventeen  to  twenty-nine  narrowly 
oblong,  entire  leaflets,  about  an  inch  in 
length,  the  midrib  of  each  projecting 
slightly  as  a  minute  bristle  at  the  tip. 
At  night  the  leaves  take  a  position  as 
for  slumber,  turning  on  their  bases 
and  folding  themselves  along  the  stem. 
Flowers  in  short,  crowded,  terminal 
FIG.  170. -Hoary  Pea  (Te-  racemes  5  each  blossom  is  nearly  an 
phrosia  mrginiana).  x  i.  inch  long,  with  hairy,  five-lobed  calyx, 


LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY)  239 

a  rounded,  yellowish  white  standard  tinged  with  purple,  a  rosy  pink 
keel,  and  reddish  purple  wings ;  the  standard  is  softly  hairy  on 
the  back.  Pods  one  or  two  inches  in  length,  flattened,  often 
somewhat  curved,  densely  hairy,  and  many-seeded.  Wild  turkeys 
are  said  to  search  for  and  fatten  on  the  peas,  though  the  plant 
has  the  reputation  of  being  poisonous.  The  Indians  used  its 
string-like  rootstocks  for  a  vermifuge,  and  Pammel 1  states  that  it 
was  used  also  for  poisoning  fish. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production  and  starve  the  rootstocks  by  cutting 
the  stems  close  to  the  ground  in  early  summer.  Cultivate  and 
enrich  the  soil. 

WOOLLY  LOCO-WEED 

Astrdgalus  mollisimus,  Torr. 

Other  English  names:    Crazyweed,  Purple  Loco,  Stemmed  Loco, 

Texas  Loco. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   April  in  the  southern  limit  of  its  range,  to  June  at 

the  northern  limit. 
Seed-time:   June  to  August. 
Range:    South  Dakota  and  Wyoming,  southward  to  Texas,  New 

Mexico,  and  Arizona.     Most  abundant  in  Colorado  and  western 

Kansas  and  Nebraska. 
Habitat :   Open  prairies  ;   lower  mountain  slopes ;   wild  meadows. 

The  Loco-weed  Disease  in  horses,  cattle,  and  sheep  is  every  year 
the  cause  of  enormous  losses  to  persons  engaged  in  the  business  of 
raising  live-stock  in  many  of  the  Western  States.  The  symptoms 
indicate  much  cerebral  disturbance  and  affected  animals  are 
commonly  said  to  be  crazy.  There  are  a  number  of  plants  that 
cause  the  disease,  all  of  them  Legumes  and  nearly  related ;  but  this 
and  the  following  species  range  most  widely  and  are  credited  with 
the  greatest  amount  of  injury  to  the  stock-raising  industry.  Horses 
and  sheep  are  the  chief  sufferers  from  the  poison,  though  cattle  also 
are  frequently  "locoed." 

Woolly  Loco  has  a  large,  tough,  woody,  deep-boring  root,  some- 
times penetrating  to  a  depth  of  six  or  more  feet,  from  the  crown  of 
which  spring  tufts  of  short,  branching  stems,  a  foot  or  less  long,  some 
1  Manual  of  Poisonous  Plants,  page  558. 


240  LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 

erect  and  some  reclining  on  the  ground  for  most  of  their  length. 
The  whole  plant  is  densely  covered  with  long,  white,  silky  hair. 
Leaves  alternate,  odd  pinnate,  five  to  eight  inches  in  length,  com- 
posed of  seventeen  to  twenty-nine  leaflets,  pointed-ovate,  and 
about  a  half -inch  long ;  petioles  slender,  with  membranous  pointed- 
ovate  stipules  united  to  their  bases.  The 
peduncles  spring  from  the  lower  axils  and  are 
longer  than  the  leaves,  so  that  the  short, 
dense  spike  of  deep  purple  or  violet  flowers 
is  held  above  them ;  each  flower  is  a  little 
more  than  a  half-inch  long,  and  has  a  tubular 
calyx  with  five  nearly  equal  teeth,  an  erect, 
oblong  standard,  narrow  wings,  and  a  blunt 
keel.  Like  the  rest  of  the  plant,  the  flower 
is  hairy;  the  pods,  however,  are  smooth, 
dry,  leathery,  about  three-fourths  of  an  inch 
long,  slightly  incurved,  grooved  at  the  sutures, 
two-celled,  each  cavity  containing  a  number 
of  seeds,  which  have  very  long  vitality  when 
in  the  soil.  (Fig.  171.) 

Means  of  control 

During  the  years  1881  to  1885  the  State  of 
Colorado  paid  a  bounty  of  21  dollars  a  ton, 
dry,  "  for  any  Loco  or  poison  weed  dug  up  not 
FIG.  171.  —  Woolly  less  than  three  inches  below  the  surface  of 

mo«Sus)UxTaZUS  the  ground>  during  the  months  of  May,  June, 
and  July."  After  about  two  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  had  been  spent,  the  law  was  repealed.  But  the  ex- 
periment proved  that  if  these  plants  are  cut  off  at  the  root,  well 
below  the  crown,  when  they  are  in  full  bloom,  they  never  sprout 
again,  but  die.  And  a  man  with  a  sharp  spade  or  a  sharp  and 
heavy  hoe  can  destroy  the  plants  very  rapidly,  cleansing  a  large 
extent  of  ground  in  a  day.  Dormant  seeds  may  furnish  another 
crop ;  but  if  successive  germinations  are  cut  off  before  developing 
seed,  the  ground  will  be  cleansed  in  the  course  of  two  or  three 
seasons  at  a  much  less  expense  than  is  now  suffered  in  losses  of 
live-stock  in  a  single  year. 


LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 


241 


STEMLESS  LOCO-WEED 

Oxytropis  Lamberti,  Pursh. 
(Aragdllus  spicdtus,  Rydb.) 

Other    English   names:     Colorado   Loco-vetch,    White   Loco-weed, 

White  Rattleweed. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  April  at  southern  limit  of  range,  August  at  northern 

limit. 

Seed-time:   June  to  October. 
Range:    Minnesota  to  the  Saskatchewan  and  British  Columbia, 

southward  to  Texas  and  Mexico. 
Habitat :  Prairies  and  foothills ;  wild  pastures  and  meadows. 

This  plant  not  only  has  a  far  wider  range  than  the  preceding 
species,  but  also  climbs  higher  up  the  mountain  sides,  being  found 
in  Colorado  and  Montana  at  an  altitude 
of  eight  thousand  feet.  Where  they  grow 
in  company,  however,  the  Woolly  Loco- 
weed  is  considered  the  more  harmful. 

The  root  is  hard,  thick,  woody,  and  scaly, 
boring  deeply  into  the  earth ;  it  is  crowned 
with  a  thick  tuft  of  nearly  erect,  odd- 
pinnate  leaves,  about  four  to  eight  inches 
long,  with  slender  petioles  and  nine  to  nine- 
teen narrow,  lance-shaped  leaflets,  about 
an  inch  in  length  and  covered  with  fine, 
silky,  whitish  hairs ;  stipules  hairy,  mem- 
branous, lance-shaped,  united  to  the  base  of 
the  petiole.  The  peduncles  also  rise  from 
the  crown,  eight  to  twelve  inches  in  height, 
holding  the  dense  flower-spikes  well  above 
the  leaves ;  the  flowers  are  usually  white, 
and  where  the  plant  is  abundant1  large 
areas  appear  as  though  covered  with  snow ; 
but  in  some  localities,  usually  in  the  higher 
mountain  regions,  there  is  'great  variation, 
some  flowers  being  pink,  others  yellowish 

or  violet  or  purple;    they  are  large,  more  L'O co-weed  (Oxytropis 
than  an  inch  long,  slender,  with  erect,  ovate  Lamberti).    x  i. 
R 


FIG.  172.  —  Stemless 


242  LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 

standard,  narrow,  oblong  wings,  and  keel  tipped  with  a  sharp,  pro- 
jecting point.  (Fig.  172.)  Pods  sessile,  imperfectly  two-celled,  very 
firm  and  leathery,  densely  hairy,  long-pointed,  and  filled  with  small 
seeds  which  loosen  and  rattle  about  in  the  pods  as  they  become  dry. 

Means  of  control 

Like  the  preceding  plant,  White  Loco-weed  can  be  killed  by  deep 
cutting  from  the  root,  well  below  the  crown  —  as  was  demonstrated 
by  a  Montana  ranchman  who  lost  three  hundred  lambs  out  of  a 
herd  of  two  thousand  in  one  season  from  Loco  poisoning ;  the  next 
year,  while  the  plants  were  in  bloom  in  May  and  June  he  hired  two 
men  to  dig  up  the  Loco-weeds  on  an  area  four  miles  square,  the 
tools  used  being  heavy,  narrow,  and  very  sharp  steel  hoes ;  the 
plants  never  sprouted  again  and  no  further  losses  from  Loco 
occurred  on  his  ranch. 


WILD   LIQUORICE 

Glycyrrhlza  lepidota,  Pursh. 

Other  English  name:    Sweet-root. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom :   May  to  August. 

Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range:  Ontario,  Manitoba,  and  Minnesota,  to  Hudson  Bay,  west- 
ward to  British  Columbia  and  Washington,  and  southward  to 
Missouri,  New  Mexico,  and  California. 

Habitat :    Open  prairies ;   fields,  meadows,  and  pastures. 

Its  hooked  pods  make  this  plant  very  obnoxious  to  western  wool- 
growers,  and  it  is  a  weed  that  is  exceedingly  hard  to  destroy. 
The  rootstocks  are  long,  thick,  creeping,  stored  with  sweet  juices, 
whence  it  is  called  Sweet-root,  a  translation  of  the  Greek  generic 
name.  These  thick,  juicy,  deep-lying  roots  enable  it  to  withstand 
drought  and  recover  from  much  cutting  and  grazing.  Stems  erect, 
branching,  one  to  three  feet  high,  usually  scurfy  with  fine  scales. 
Leaves  long-petioled,  odd-pinnate,  with  eleven  to  nineteen  oblong, 
pointed  leaflets,  entire,  bristle-tipped,  and  specked  with  minute 
scales  or  dots,  being  scurfy  when  young  and  dotted  when  old. 
Flowers  densely  crowded  on  axillary  spikes,  shorter  than  the 


LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY)  243 

leaves ;  the  corolla,  a  little 
less  than  a  half-inch  long, 
yellowish  white  with  narrow 
standard  exceeding  the  wings 
and  blunt  keel.  Pods  about 
a  half-inch  long,  two-  to  six- 
seeded,  brown,  bur-like,  bris- 
tling all  over  with  short,  hooked 
prickles,  making  fast  to  almost 
anything  at  a  touch  and  widely 
distributed  by  animal  trans- 
portation. (Fig.  173.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  development 
and  distribution  by  repeated 
cutting,  beginning  as  soon  as 
the  first  flowers  wither.  In 
order  to  kill  the  perennial  FIG.  173.  —  Wild  Liquorice  (Glycyrrhiza 
rootstocks,  the  land  requires  lepidota).  x  J. 

to  be  kept  under  very  thorough  cultivation  for  three  successive 
years,  giving  the  weed  "no  chance  to  see  daylight"  throughout 
each  growing  season.  Increased  returns  from  the  crops  will  repay 
extra  tillage. 

HOARY   TICK-TREFOIL 

Desmbdium  canescens,  DC. 
(Meibbmia  canescens,  Ktze.) 

Other  English  names:   Seed  Ticks,  Wool  Ticks. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range:    New  England  and  Ontario  to  Minnesota  and  Nebraska, 

southward  to  Florida,  Louisiana,  and  Texas. 
Habitat :    Rich,  moist  soil ;   borders  of  fields  and  woods,  roadsides, 

and  waste  places. 

To  the  wool-grower  this   is  one  of    the  most  vexatious  weeds 
that  grow,  for  its  "ticks"  are  glutinous  as  well  as  bristly-hooked, 


244         .  LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY} 

clinging  to  anything  they  touch,  even  a  bare  hand,  and  in  fleeces 
they  are  very  adhesive,  carrying  strands  of  wool  with  them  when 
removed.  Ticky  wool  is  therefore  sharply  "cut"  in  the  market. 

Stem  erect,  slightly  ridged  and  grooved,  sometimes  attaining  five 
feet  in  height  but  more  often  two  or  three  feet  tall,  smooth  below 
but  the  growing  branches  densely  set  with  two  kinds  of  hairs,  some 
very  short,  fine,  and  hooked,  others  longer,  spreading,  and  glutinous. 
Leaves  large,  trifoliolate,  the  leaflets  broadly  ovate,  two  to  four 
inches  long,  the  terminal  one  with  a  footstalk  and  larger  than  the 
lateral  pair,  rough-hairy  on  the  upper  surface,  white-hairy  and  net- 
veined  beneath ;  petioles  hairy  and  about  as  long  as  the  leaves ; 
stipules  heart-shaped,  acute,  persistent.  Flowers  in  terminal  com- 
pound racemes,  very  small,  less  than  a  quarter-inch  in  length, 
purple,  the  standard  obovate  and  the  wings  attached  to  the  short, 
blunt  keel  by  a  small  transverse  appendage.  Pods  four-  to  seven- 
seeded,  constricted  between  the  seeds  above  and  below  but  most  so 
on  the  under  side,  the  joints  longer  than  broad,  net-veined,  sticky, 
hairy,  readily  separating  and  adhering  to  anything  at  a  touch. 

Means  of  control 

Close  cutting  while  in  early  bloom,  repeating  the  treatment  as 
new  shoots  appear.  Cultivation  of  the  ground  destroys  the 
perennial  roots. 

SHOWY  TICK-TREFOIL 

Desmodium  canadense,  DC. 
(Meibbmia  canadensis,  Ktze.) 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:    Late  August  to  November. 

Range:    New  Brunswick  to  the  Saskatchewan,  southward  to  the 

Carolinas  and  Oklahoma. 
Habitat:   Woodland  borders  and  thickets  along  streams. 

Stem  two  to  six  feet  tall,  stout,  erect,  ridged  and  grooved,  very 
hairy.  Leaflets  oblong-ovate,  nearly  smooth  above,  finely  ap- 
pressed  hairy  beneath,  obtuse,  with  numerous  nearly  straight  veins ; 
petioles  very  short,  the  uppermost  leaves  nearly  sessile.  Flowers 
in  large  panicled  racemes,  densely  many-flowered,  very  showy; 


LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 


245 


similar  in  form  to  the  preceding  species  but  much  larger,  each 
blossom  more  than  a  half-inch  long,  bluish  purple  or  sometimes 
nearly  white.     Pods  three-  to  five-seeded,  slightly  curved,  the  joints 
roundish  triangular,  covered  with  hooked  hairs.     (Fig.  174.) 
Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  Hoary  Tick-trefoil. 


Fio.  174.  —  Showy  Tick- 
trefoil  (Desmodium  cana- 
dense).  X  i- 


FIG.  175. —  Bush  Clover 
(Lespedeza  violacea).     X  t- 


BUSH   CLOVER 

Lespedeza  violacea,  Pers. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:    August  to  October. 

Range:    New    England    to    Minnesota,    southward    to    Florida, 

Louisiana,  and  Kansas. 
Habitat :    Dry,  sterile  soil ;    pastures  and  thin  meadows ;    thickets 

and  open  woods. 


246  LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 

Cattle  will  eat  this  plant  when  it  is  young  if  there  is  no  better 
forage,  but  it  soon  becomes  hard  and  innutritions.  Stems  one  to 
three  feet  tall,  much  branched,  slender  and  spreading,  sparsely 
hairy.  Leaves  few  and  rather  small,  pinnately  three-foliolate,  the 
leaflets  a  half-inch  to  two  inches  long,  thin,  oblong  or  elliptic, 
bristle-tipped,  finely  appressed-hairy  on  the  under  side;  petioles 
often  scarcely  longer  than  the  footstalk  of  the  middle  leaflet. 
Flowers  in  small  axillary  clusters  on  very  slender  peduncles  much 
longer  than  the  leaves ;  corolla  violet-purple,  about  a  quarter-inch 
long,  the  keel  often  longer  than  the  standard.  Pod  ovate,  pointed, 
flattened,  net-veined,  about  a  sixth  of  an  inch  long,  containing  one 
seed.  (Fig.  175.) 

Means  of  control 

Cut  before  the  earliest  flowers  mature  seeds. 

Cultivate  and  liberally  fertilize  the  ground,  reseeding  it  with 
clovers  of  a  better  quality  which  will  smother  the  growth  of  this 
weed  from  dormant  seeds. 

COMMON  VETCH 

Vicia  satlva,  L. 

Other  English  names :   Spring  Vetch,  Pebble  Vetch,  Tare. 

Introduced.     Annual  or  winter  annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  June  to  August. 

Seed-time:   July  to  September. 

Range:    Eastern  Canada  and  New  England  to  the  Dakotas,  and 

southward  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.     Also  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 
Habitat:   Grain  fields,  meadows,  roadsides,  waste  places. 

This  is  the  Vetch  most  commonly  grown  as  a  forage  plant,  and  as 
a  weed  it  is  often  a  survival  of  former  cultivation  by  means  of  self- 
sown,  dormant  seeds.  Also  the  seeds  are  sometimes  sown  as  an 
impurity  with  grass  and  grain  seeds,  and  in  such  places  it  makes 
itself  a  nuisance  by  entangling  and  pulling  down  the  crop,  making 
the  harvest  difficult.  (Fig.  176.) 

Stems  one  to  three  feet  long,  simple  or  branching  from  the 
base,  hairy  when  young  but  later  becoming  smooth.  Leaves 
pinnately  compound,  with  broad,  sharply  toothed  stipules 


LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 


247 


and  four  to  eight  pairs  of  oblong 
leaflets,  slightly  notched  at  their 
tips  and  with  midrib  project- 
ing as  a  fine,  bristly  point.  Ex- 
tending from  between  the  terminal 
pair  of  leaflets  is  a  long  forked 
tendril.  Flowers  on  short  axillary 
peduncles,  usually  in  pairs,  nearly 
an  inch  long  and  rather  showy,  the 
corolla  being  reddish  purple  or 
sometimes  rosy  pink,  the  stand- 
ard long  obovate  and  notched  at 
the  top,  the  wings  adherent  to  the 
curved  keel.  Pods  slender,  two  to 
three  inches  long,  hairy  when 
green  but  becoming  smooth,  and 
slightly  constricted  between  the 
small  globular  seeds  as  they  ripen. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  the  development  of  seeds 
by  early  and  close  cutting.  In 
grain  fields,  many  of  the  young 
seedlings  may  be  raked  out  with  a  weeding  harrow  when  the  crop  is 
but  a  few  inches  tall.  Or,  later,  but  while  still  in  the  young  and  hairy 
stage,  the  weed  may  be  destroyed  by  the  use  of  chemical  sprays. 


FIG.  176.  —  Common  Vetch  (Vicia 
saliva).     X  |. 


COW  VETCH 

Vicia  Crdcca,  L. 

Other  English  names :   Tufted  Vetch,  Blue  Vetch,  Bird  Vetch,  Tine 

Grass,  Titters,  Cat  Fitch,  Cat  Peas. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstoeks. 
Time  of  bloom :  June  to  August. 
Seed-time:   July  to  September. 
Range:    Newfoundland  to  British  Columbia,  southward  to  New 

Jersey,  Kentucky,  Iowa,  and  Minnesota. 
Habitat:   Fields,  meadows,  and  waste  places. 


248 


LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 


The  most  widely  distributed  of  the  Vetches,  being  very  common 
in  both  Europe  and  Asia.  Like  nearly  all  of  the  Legume  Family 
it  has  root  tubercles  which  cause  it  to  enrich  the  soil  where  it 
grows  ;  it  furnishes  good  forage  and  good  hay,  but  its  tough,  creep- 
ing rootstocks  make  it  so  difficult  of  removal  from  places  where  it  is 
not  wanted  that  it  must  often  be  rated  as  a  bad  weed.  (Fig.  177.) 
Stems  tufted,  slender,  angled, 
branching,  two  to  four  feet  long, 
climbing  by  means  of  tendrils  at  the 
tips  of  the  pinnately  compound  leaves 
and  forming  dense  mats,  smothering 
grass  or  other  plants  that  grow  be- 
neath, and  entangling  and  pulling 
down  the  crop  when  growing  in  a 
grain  field.  Leaves  sessile  or  nearly 
so,  composed  of  eighteen  to  twenty- 
four  thin,  narrowly  oblong,  entire 
bristle-tipped  leaflets.  The  whole 
plant  is  covered  with  fine,  close- 
pressed  hairs  and  is  a  soft  olive  green 
in  color.  Flowers  numerous,  on 
slender,  one-sided  axillary  racemes 
about  as  long  as  the  leaves,  the 
standard  and  wings  of  the  corollas 
being  narrower  than  in  the  preceding 
species;  each  blossom  is  about  a 
half-inch  long,  violet-blue  in  color, 
and  hangs  reflexed  on  its  stalk.  Pods 
smooth,  about  an  inch  in  length,  and  contain  five  to  eight  small, 
dark  brown,  globular  seeds.  They  are  frequently  an  impurity  of 
grass  and  clover  seeds  and  are  somewhat  troublesome  to  remove. 

Means  of  control 

In  grain  fields,  very  many  of  the  seedlings  that  have  not  yet 
begun  to  cling  maybe  raked  out  with  a  weeding  harrow  in  the  spring. 
Infested  meadows  should  be  broken  up  and  put  to  a  well-tilled  hoed 
crop  such  as  corn  or  potatoes,  followed  by  oats  and  clover.  In 
places  where  cultivation  is  not  desirable,  the  rootstocks  must  be 


FIG.    177.  —  Cow 
Cracca). 


(Vicia 


LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY)  249 

starved  by  close,  repeated,  and  persistent  cutting  throughout  the 
growing  season.  Or,  as  the  finely  downy  foliage  is  somewhat  sus- 
ceptible to  injury  from  chemical  sprays,  leaf-growth  may  be  held 
in  check  and  seeding  prevented  by  this  means,  but  the  treatment 
must  be  repeated  as  often  as  the  plants  make  recovery  from  the 
roots. 

HAIRY   VETCH 

Vicia  villdsa,  Roth. 

Other  English  names :  Winter  Vetch,  Hairy  Tare. 

Introduced.     Annual  or  biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   May  to  September. 

Seed-time:  June  to  October. 

Range :   Locally  in  most  parts  of  the  country,  but  most  common  in 

the  southern  states  from  Pennsylvania  to  Georgia. 
Habitat:   Fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

Hairy  Vetch  is  frequently  planted  for  a  cover  crop  or  for  fodder, 
and  is  inclined  to  persist  or  to  escape  to  roadsides  and  waste  places. 
It  resembles  the  Cow  Vetch  in  form  and  habit,  but  is  covered  all 
over,  stems,  leaves,  and  even  flower-stalks  and  pods,  with  persistent, 
long,  soft  hairs.  Stems  one  to  three  feet  long,  with  short,  petioled 
pinnate  leaves  having  lance-like  stipules  and  twelve  to  twenty 
oblong  leaflets,  which  are  obtuse  or  varying  to  lance-shape  or 
linear.  Racemes  three  to  six  inches  long,  many-flowered,  with 
rather  short  peduncles ;  the  blossoms  are  violet  and  white,  often 
nearly  an  inch  long  —  almost  twice  the  length  of  those  of  Vicia 
Cracca  —  with  calyx-lobes  bristly  hairy  on  the  lower  side  and  the 
corollas  not  so  slim,  with  standard  and  wings  somewhat  more 
spreading.  The  hairy  pods  contain  six  or  eight  small,  dark, 
globular  seeds. 

Means  of  control 

Destroy  winter  plants  by  hoe-cutting  or  by  surface  cultivating 
of  the  ground,  or  they  may  be  grazed  off  in  early  spring.  Prevent 
seed  development  by  cutting  while  in  first  bloom  —  and,  if  abun- 
dant, curing  for  hay.  All  waste-land  and  roadside  plants  should 
be  destroyed. 


250  LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 

EVERLASTING  PEA 

Ldthyrus  latifblius,  L. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   July  to  August. 
Seed-time:   August  to  September. 

Range:    Locally  from  Ontario  to  southern  New  York  and  Con- 
necticut. 
Habitat :   Fields,  meadows,  and  waste  places. 

A  showy  plant,  often  cultivated  in  gardens  for  its  beauty  and 
becoming  wild  as  an  "escape."  Stem  often  six  feet  or  more  long, 
smooth,  angled,  and  broadly  winged  between  the  joints ;  the  leaves 
also  have  winged  petioles.  Leaflets  a  single  pair,  broadly  elliptic 
in  shape,  rather  thick,  strongly  nerved,  one  to  three  inches  long  and 
a  half-inch  to  an  inch  wide;  tendrils  short,  with  angled  stalks, 
usually  triple-branched;  stipules  large,  lance-shaped,  auricled  at 
the  base  on  the  outer  side.  Flowers  densely  bunched  or  clustered 
at  the  end  of  a  stiff,  angled  peduncle  rising  from  the  axils ;  they  are 
about  the  size  of  Sweet  Peas  or  even  larger,  but  without  fragrance, 
usually  rosy  pink  in  color  but  may  be  either  purple  or  white.  Pods 
one  to  three  inches  long,  smooth,  and  many-seeded.  These  seeds, 
like  those  of  the  Meadow  Pea,  contain  an  alkaloid  which  makes 
them  most  unwholesome  food  for  animals  if  eaten  uncooked,  caus- 
ing a  disease  called  Lathyrism,  affecting  the  nervous  and  muscular 
systems  and  ending  in  paralysis. 

Means  of  control 

Small  areas  should  be  grubbed  out  when  first  observed.  Rankly 
infested  ground  should  be  put  under  cultivation  of  the  most 
thorough  kind.  Seeding  should  be  prevented  by  close  cutting 
before  the  first  flowers  have  matured,  as  the  seeds  have  long  vital- 
ity when  in  the  soil. 

TUBEROUS   WILD   PEA 
Ldthyrus  tuberdsus,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Wild  Sweet  Pea,  Tuberous  Sweet  Pea. 
Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  tuber-bearing 

rootstocks. 
Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 


LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 


251 


Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:    Locally  established  in  Vermont  and  Ontario. 

Habitat:   Fields,  meadows,  and  waste  places. 

This  plant  bears  numerous  flowers  of  charming  color  and  fra- 
grance, and  these  pleasant  traits  may  blind  many  eyes  to  other  quali- 
ties that  fit  it  to  become  a  very  noxious 
weed.  The  tough,  slender  rootstocks 
bear  many  small  tubers  from  which  new 
plants  are  produced,  and  the  plant  also 
fruits  abundantly  above  ground.  It 
grows  in  dense  mats,  smothering  all  other 
plants  that  grow  with  it.  Ordinary  cul- 
tivation only  serves  to  spread  it  by 
breaking  the  rootstocks  and  scattering 
the  tubers. 

Stems  smooth,  very  slender,  one  to 
three  feet  long,  with  thin  leaves  and 
stipules ;  each  pinnate  leaf  has  but  two 
oblong  leaflets  a  little  more  than  an 
inch  long ;  petioles,  slim  and  wiry,  the 
tendrils  hair-like  and  usually  not  branched. 
Racemes  on  very  slender  axillary  pedun- 
cles, three-  to  six-flowered.  Blossoms 
fragrant,  not  quite  an  inch  long,  with 
erect  standard  and  obliquely  spread 
rosy  pink  or  ^reddish  purple  wings. 
Pods  smooth,  with  globular,  dark  seeds, 
which,  as  forage,  are  dangerously  un- 
wholesome. (Fig.  178.) 


aus).    x  J. 


Means  of  control 


Prevent  seeding  and  check  the  growth  of  rootstocks  by  close  and 
persistent  cutting  throughout  the  growing  season  ;  then  plow  late 
in  the  fall,  and  in  the  next  spring  put  the  ground  to  a  well-tilled 
hoed-crop,  permitting  no  leaf-growth  to  the  weed.  A  second  sea- 
son of  such  root-starvation  may  be  required,  but  increased  returns 
from  the  crops  repay  the  expense  of  extra  tillage. 


252  LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 

MEADOW  PEA 
Ldthyrus  pratensis,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Yellow  Vetchling,  YeUow  Tar-fitch,  Craw- 
Peas,  Mouse-Peas. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  June  to  August. 

Seed-time:   July  to  September. 

Range:  New  Brunswick,  Maine,  Massachusetts,  New  York,  and 
Ontario. 

Habitat:   Locally  in  fields  and  waste  places. 

This  plant  is  accounted  a  worthless  and  troublesome  weed 
throughout  Europe  and  Russian  Asia,  and,  since  the  areas  where  it 
has  established  itself  in  this  country  are  as  yet  few  and  small,  it 
would  be  well  to  keep  it  from  wider  dissemination,  or  even  to  stamp 
it  out  in  as  many  of  these  restricted  localities  as  possible.  Like 
other  plants  of  the  genus  Laihyrus,  it  is  poisonous  to  grazing  animals 
when  eaten  in  any  considerable  quantity,  especially  when  seeding; 
and  persons  who  have  eaten  the  seeds  have  suffered  with  violent 
headache  and  nausea. 

Stems  one  to  three  feet  long,  weak,  slender,  angled  and  branch- 
ing. The  pinnate  leaves  consist  of  two  bright  green,  narrowly 
lance-shaped  leaflets,  smooth  and  pointed  at  both  ends,  a  long, 
curling  tendril  extending  between  them ;  stipules  large,  long- 
pointed,  and  leaf-like,  auricled  at  the  base  on  the  outer  side. 
Racemes  axillary,  on  peduncles  much  longer  than  the  leaves,  bear- 
ing four  to  nine  bright  yellow  blossoms  about  a  half-inch  long 
with  broadly  obovate  standard  and  wings  nearly  equaling  it  in 
length.  Pods  a  little  more  than  an  inch  long,  slender,  thin,  and 
smooth,  containing  many  small,  dark,  globular  seeds. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  development  of  seed  by  cutting  repeatedly  during  the 
growing  season,  which  will  also  starve  the  perennial  roots.  Small 
areas  should  be  hand-pulled  or  grubbed  out.  Ground  too  rankly 
infested  to  be  cleansed  by  land-labor  should  be  put  to  some  crop 
requiring  very  close  cultivation. 


LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 


253 


TRAILING   WILD   BEAN 
Strophostyles  helvola,  Britton 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range :  Atlantic  States  from  Massachusetts  to  Florida ;  along  the 
Great  Lakes  from  Quebec  to  Minnesota,  and  southward  through 
the  Mississippi  Valley  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  Texas. 

Habitat :   Sandy  fields ;   shores  of  lakes  and  streams. 

Usually  this  plant  is  prostrate,  trailing  or  twining  to  a  length  of 
three  to  eight  feet,  branching  at  the  base,  and  with  leaves  at  some- 
what distant  intervals ;  but  occasion- 
ally it  will  have  a  stouter,  more  leafy 
stalk,  held  erect  and  less  than  two 
feet  tall ;  in  either  form  rough,  with 
downward-pointing  hairs.  The  plants 
are  said  to  be  very  nutritious  and  are 
much  liked  by  grazing  cattle,  but  in 
cultivated  fields  they  are  often  rather 
troublesome. 

Leaves  pinnately  trifoliolate  with 
slender  petioles  and  very  small,  narrow, 
pointed  stipules ;  leaflets  one  to  three 
inches  in  length,  rather  long  ovate, 
the  lateral  ones  often  obtusely  lobed 
on  the  outer  sides  and  the  terminal  one 
on  both  sides,  or  the  upper  leaves  may 
have  entire  leaflets  and  the  lower  ones 
be  distinctly  three-lobed.  Flowers  axil- 
lary, lifted  on  long,  slender  peduncles 
in  dense  capitate  clusters  of  three  to 
ten  pale  purple  blossoms,  fading  to  a 
greenish  color,  the  keels  curved  and 
slender,  the  standards  rounded  and 
about  a  half-inch  wide.  Pods  round, 
slender,  sessile,  nearly  smooth,  tipped 
with  the  persistent  bent  style,  four-  to  eight-seeded,  the  beans 
downy.  (Fig.  179.) 


254  LEGUMINOSAE  (PULSE  FAMILY) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production  by  hoe-cutting  while  small.  Dormant 
seeds  often  germinate  and  bloom  late,  after  horse  cultivation  of 
crops  has  ceased.  Follow  the  cultivated  crop  with  heavy  seeding 
to  clover  or  cowpeas. 

PINK  WILD   BEAN 

Strophostyles  umbellata,  Britton 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range :  New  York  to  Missouri,  southward  to  Florida  and  Texas. 

Habitat :   Moist,  sandy  soil ;    fields  and  waste  places. 

More  persistent  and  troublesome  than  the  preceding  species, 
because  perennial.  Stems  often  several  from  the  same  rootstock, 
two  to  five  feet  in  length,  very  slender,  branched,  and  trailing. 
Leaflets  smaller  and  thinner  in  texture  than  the  preceding  species, 
sparsely  hairy,  long-ovate  to  oblong,  usually  somewhat  obtuse  at 
apex  and  rounded  at  base,  entire,  or  rarely  slightly  lobed,  the 
petioles  generally  shorter  than  the  leaflets,  with  small,  lance-shaped 
stipules.  Flowers  in  umbellate  heads  on  slender  peduncles  often 
three  times  as  long  as  the  leaves,  with  short  pedicels,  the  corollas 
pink,  fading  yellowish,  the  standard  about  a  half -inch  broad. 
Pods  one  to  two  inches  long,  very  slender,  straight,  slightly  flat- 
tened, the  seeds  within  closely  packed,  truncate  at  the  ends, 
covered  with  a  glandular  mealiness. 

Means  of  control 

In  cultivated  fields,  close  and  persistent  hoe-cutting  throughout 
the  growing  season,  in  order  to  prevent  seed  development  and  starve 
the  rootstocks.  Grazing  off  when  in  grasslands,  particularly  with 
sheep. 

SMALL  WILD   BEAN 

Strophostyles  paucifldra,  S.  Wats. 

Other  English  names:   Few-flowered  Wild  Bean. 
Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 


OXALIDACEAE  (WOOD  SORREL  FAMILT)  255 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:    Indiana  to  Minnesota  and  Nebraska,  southward  to  the 

Gulf  of  Mexico. 
Habitat:   Fields  and  meadows,  banks  of  streams,  waste  places. 

A  small,  very  slender,  low-climbing  plant,  with  stems  fifteen  to 
thirty  inches  long,  clothed  with  fine,  downward-turning  hairs. 
Leaflets  lance-shaped  or  oblong  to  linear,  without  lobes,  obtuse  at 
apex  and  rounded  at  base,  entire,  little  more  than  an  inch  long  and 
less  than  a  half-inch  wide.  Heads  two-  to  six-flowered,  in  capitate 
clusters,  on  peduncles  much  longer  than  the  leaves ;  corollas  pale 
purple  and  only  about  a  quarter-inch  long.  Pods  very  slender,  a 
little  more  than  an  inch  in  length,  flat,  and  very  hairy.  Beans 
purple,  very  small  and  flat,  at  first  mealy  but  later  smooth  and 
shining. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  Trailing  Wild  Bean. 

YELLOW  WOOD   SORREL 

Oxalis  stricla,  L. 
(Xanthdxalis  stricta,  Small) 

Other  English  names:    Upright  Wood  Sorrel,  Sheep  Sorrel,  Sheep 
Poison,  Sour-grass. 

Native.     Annual  or  perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  woody 
rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom:   April  to  September. 

Seed-time:   Late  May  to  October. 

Range:  Nova  Scotia  to  South  Da- 
kota, southward  to  Florida  and 
Texas. 

Habitat :  In  woods,  cultivated  ground, 
roadsides,  waste  places,  even  along 
the  curbstones  of  city  streets. 


Stems  tufted  on  woody  rootstocks, 
or  annual  seedlings  single,  upright  or 
sometimes  decumbent,  branching  at 
the  base,  pale  green,  slender,  covered 
with  fine,  appressed  hairs.  Leaves 
alternate,  palmately  three-parted,  the 
leaflets  about  a  half-inch  long,  bright  FlQ  180.  _  Yeilow  Wood  Sorrel 
green,  smooth,  deeply  notched  at  the  (Oxalis  stricta).  x  i 


256  OXALIDACEAE  (WOOD  SORREL  FAMILY) 

outer  edge,  sensitive,  drooping  against  the  stalk  when  plucked ; 
this  position  they  also  take  at  night ;  petioles  long,  slender,  also 
finely  appressed-hairy.  Flowers  lemon-yellow,  in  open  cymes  of 
about  two  to  four,  on  peduncles  longer  than  the  leaves,  the 
pedicels  slender  and  divergent,  deflexed  in  fruit.  Petals  five, 
withering  soon  after  opening;  stamens  ten,  five  long  and 
five  short,  the  filaments  united  at  base;  ovary  five-celled;  five 
separate  styles  with  terminal  stigmas.  Capsules  large,  cylindric, 
short-pointed,  often  more  than  an  inch  long.  Seeds  very  small, 
brown,  flattened  ovoid,  covered  with  transverse  wrinkles. 
(Fig.  180.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production  by  deep  hoe-cutting  or  hand-pulling 
before  the  first  flowers  mature. 


LADY'S   SORREL 

Oxalis  corniculata,  L. 
(Xanthoxalis  corniculata,  Small) 

Native.    Annual    or    perennial.     Propagates    by    seeds    and    by 

stolons. 
Time  of  bloom:    March  to  late  October  at  the  northern  limits  of 

range ;   throughout  the  year  where  not  snow-covered. 
Seed-time:    Throughout  the  year. 
Range:   New  Jersey  to  Kansas,  southward  to  the  Gulf  States  and 

Mexico. 
Habitat:  Fields,  roadsides,  waste  places. 

This  plant,  like  the  preceding  one,  may  be  called  annual,  in 
that  it  flowers  and  fruits  during  its  first  year  of  life ;  but  this 
species  prolongs  its  existence  through  its  many  slender  runners. 

Stems  low,  with  spreading  branches,  those  at  the  base  creeping 
on  the  ground,  three  inches  to  a  foot  or  more  long,  rooting  at  the 
joints,  those  above  sparsely  covered  with  fine,  spreading  hairs. 
Leaflets  deep  green,  sometimes  with  a  purplish  tinge,  notched  at  the 
outer  edge,  nearly  smooth,  often  an  inch  broad.  Flowers  yellow,  in 
umbellate  or  cymose  clusters,  peduncle  and  pedicels  sparingly  hairy, 
the  latter  not  deflexed  in  fruit.  Capsule  smaller  than  that  of  the 


GERANlACEAE  (GERANIUM  FAMILY) 


257 


preceding  species,  a  little  more  than  a  half-inch  long,  faintly  five- 
sided,  with  tapering  point.  Seeds  compressed  ovoid,  brown,  trans- 
versely wrinkled. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Wood  Sorrel. 


SMALL-FLOWERED   CRANE'S-BILL 
Geranium  pusillum,  Burm.  f. 

Introduced.     Annual  or  biennial.     Propagates  by  seed. 

Time  of  bloom :   May  to  September. 

Seed-lime:  June  to  October. 

Range:  Ontario  to  British  Columbia,  southward  to  North  Caro- 
lina, Nebraska,  and  Utah. 

Habitat:  Cultivated  ground,  lawns  and  yards,  roadsides,  and  waste 
places. 

This  plant  is  frequently  troublesome  in  lawns  and  its  seeds  are 
too  often  an  impurity  of  the  mixed  grass  seeds  sold  for  making  such 
green  turf.  Its  seed  capsules  open  elas- 
tically,  scattering  its  progeny  for  several 
feet ;  lawn-mowers  also  help  in  its  dis- 
tribution, and  soon  the  grass  begins  to 
be  "run  out"  by  the  weed,  especially 
when  the  turf  is  rather  thin  and  the 
soil  in  need  of  enrichment.  (Fig.  181.) 

It  has  a  slender  taproot,  fringed  with 
thready  rootlets.  Stem  three  inches  to 
a  foot  or  more  in  length,  branching  from 
the  base,  spreading  or  prostrate,  softly 
hairy.  Leaves  rounded  or  kidney- 
shaped  in  outline  but  deeply  five-  to 
seven-lobed,  the  segments  toothed  at 
the  tips,  finely  downy-hairy.  Flowers 
in  pairs,  on  short  peduncles  in  the  axils 
or  opposite  to  them,  about  a  quarter- 
inch  broad,  pinkish  purple,  the  five 
petals  notched  at  their  edges ;  five 
sepals,  nearly  as  long  as  the  petals, 
sharp-pointed  but  without  awns ;  stamens  five ;  the  five  united, 
persistent  styles  form  the  "crane's-bill,"  which  tips  the  five- 


FIG.  181.  —  Small-flowered 
Crane's-bill  (Geranium  pu- 
sillum). X  i. 


258  GERANIACEAE  (GERANIUM  FAMILY} 

celled  ovary  and  splits  from  the  base  when  ripe.     Seeds  two  in 
each  cavity,  very  small,  smooth,  slightly  flattened,  reddish  brown. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  development.  The  best  way  of  ridding  a  lawn  of 
this  intruder  is  to  fill  a  common  machine  oil-can  with  crude  carbolic 
acid  and  squirt  a  few  drops  directly  on  the  crown  of  the  root  as  soon 
as  the  first  small,  pink  blossoms  make  it  noticeable  among  the 
grass.  Or  it  may  be  cut  from  the  root  with  a  knife  or  a  small  spud. 

ALFILARIA   OR  FILAREE 

Erbdium  cicutarium,  L'Her. 

Other  English  names:    Pin  Clover,  Pin  Grass,  Pin  Weed,  Stork's- 

bill,  Heron's-bill. 

Introduced.     Annual  or  biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   April  to  September. 
Seed-time:   Late  May  to  October. 
Range:   Nova  Scotia  to  Oregon,  southward  to  New  Jersey,  Texas, 

and  Mexico.     Very  abundant  on  the  Pacific  coast. 
Habitat :   Dry  soil ;   fields  and  waste  places. 

In  the  arid  lands  of  the  West  and  the  Southwest,  the  Filaree  is 
valued  as  a  pasture  plant  when  young ;  but  where  better  forage  is 
plentiful  it  is  regarded  as  a  weed.  Stems  tufted,  six  inches  to  a 
foot  in  height,  hairy,  somewhat  viscid,  reddish,  usually  branched 
above.  Leaves  pinnatifid,  the  segments  again  finely  cut  and 
toothed,  the  lower  ones  with  petioles,  the  upper  ones  sessile. 
Flowers  in  umbellate  clusters  of  two  to  twelve,  pink  or  light  purple, 
about  a  third  of  an  inch  broad ;  petals  five,  with  rounded  tips ; 
sepals  five,  bristle-pointed  and  hairy ;  stamen-bearing  anthers  five, 
alternating  with  as  many  sterile  filaments ;  carpels  and  styles  five, 
united  into  a  "  stork's-bill "  one  or  two  inches  long,  when  ripe  split- 
ting from  a  central  axis  into  spirally  twisted  and  bearded  awns  or 
beaks  with  sickle-bent  tips ;  when  damp  the  awns  straighten  and 
when  dry  they  recoil,  thus  being  easily  caught  in  the  fleeces  of 
sheep,  and  the  seed  so  distributed.  (Fig.  182.) 

Occupying  about  the  same  range  as  this  plant  is  a  near  relative, 
the  Musk  Clover,  or  Musky  Alfilaria  (Erodium  moschatum,  L'Her.), 


ZYGOPHYLLACEAE  (CALTROP  FAMILY) 


259 


a  larger,  coarser  plant,  with  less 
finely  divided  leaves  and  some- 
what larger  flowers.  Less  valuable 
as  a  forage  plant,  for  cattle  do  not 
relish  its  musky  odor  and  taste ; 
sheep,  however,  do  not  seem  to 
object  to  it.  Both  plants  invade 
grain  fields  to  the  disadvantage 
of  the  crop. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production.  Put 
the  ground  under  cultivation  in 
order  to  stir  dormant  seeds  into 
germination,  and  give  such  fre- 
quent tillage  that  no  seedlings  will 
be  allowed  to  mature. 


GROUND   BUR-NUT 
Tribulus  terrestris,  L. 


FIG.    182.  —  Alfilaria   or   Filaree 
(Erodium  cicutarium).     X  J. 


Other  English  name:   Land  Caltrop. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 

Seed-time:   July  to  September. 

Range :   Iowa,  Illinois,  Kansas,  and  Nebraska ;   also  about  Atlantic 

seaports. 
Habitat:   Pastures,  waste  places. 

The  Caltrop  is  native  to  the  Mediterranean  regions  of  Europe, 
and  is  said  to  have  been  brought  into  its  western  range  in  the 
fleeces  worn  by  imported  sheep ;  and  it  is  a  very  troublesome  weed 
to  wool-growers. 

Stems  eight  inches  to  nearly  three  feet  long,  branching  from  the 
base,  and  often  forking  above,  weak,  slender,  silky-hairy,  some 
prostrate  and  others  ascending,  spreading  on  all  sides.  Leaves 
numerous,  also  silky-hairy,  evenly  pinnate,  short-petioled,  with 
ten  to  fourteen  small,  oblong,  sessile  leaflets,  the  pairs  frequently 
unequal  in  size.  Flowers  axillary,  on  peduncles  shorter  than  the 


260  EUPHORBIACEAE  (SPURGE  FAMILY) 

leaves ;  they  are  about  a  half-inch  broad,  with  five  hairy,  pointed, 
persistent  sepals  and  five  fan-shaped,  rounded,  yellow  petals, 
broader  than  long,  which  soon  fall  away ;  stamens  ten,  as  long  as 
the  petals;  ovary  five-celled  and  hairy,  the  styles  united  in  a 
column  with  five-ridged  stigma.  The  fruit,  or  nut,  is  nearly  a  half- 
inch  broad,  and  splits  at  maturity  into  five  carpels,  each  one  armed 
with  two  to  four  hard,  often  curved  and  spreading  spines.  Each 
carpel  contains  several  seeds,  which,  protected  by  their  hard,  spiny 
covering,  may  lie  dormant  in  the  soil  for  more  than  one  season. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production  by  close  cutting  before  the  first  flowers 
mature.  No  annual  plant  can  long  survive  which  is  not  permitted 
to  foul  the  ground  with  its  future  generations. 


SPURGE   NETTLE 

Jdtropha  stimuldsa,  Michx. 

Other  English  names:  Bull  Net- 
tle, Tread-softly. 

Native.  Perennial.  Propagates 
by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  May  to  Septem- 
ber. 

Seed-time:  June  to  November. 

Range:  Virginia  and  Tennessee, 
south  and  west  to  Florida, 
Louisiana,  and  Texas. 

Habitat:  Prefers  light,  sandy 
soils,  but  invades  nearly  all 
crops. 

The  tough,  woody,  branching 
roots  of  this  plant  often  penetrate 
the  soil  to  a  depth  of  three  to 
five  feet,    taking    to    themselves 
what  food  and  moisture  is  to  be 
found.    Herbaceous  stems  are  sent 
FIG.  183.  —  Spurge  Nettle  (Jatropha    up  yearly,  one  to  three  feet  tall, 
timulosa).    x  i.  slender,  branching,  bright  green, 


EUPHORBIACEAE  (SPURGE  FAMILY)  261 

bristly  with  stinging  hairs,  which  produce,  when  in  contact  with  the 
skin,  a  much  more  painful  and  lasting  irritation  than  do  those  of  the 
nettle.  The  leaves  are  similarly  armed ;  these  are  two  to  six  inches 
or  more  broad,  roundish  heart-shaped  in  outline  but  three-  to  five- 
lobe_dj  with  prominent  veins,  wavy-toothed,  and  with  prickly  edges 
and  long,  bristly  petioles.  Male  and  female  flowers  are  separate, 
the  staminate  ones  usually  in  terminal  clusters,  the  fertile  ones  in 
the  axils  just  below.  Calyx  of  the  staminate  flower  white,  fuzzy, 
the  five  lobes  spread  salver-shape,  more  than  a  half-inch  broad, 
fragrant ;  fertile  flowers  also  five-parted  but  smaller,  soon  followed 
by  three-celled,  three-seeded,  wrinkled,  and  bristly-hairy  pods, 
about  three-fourths  of  an  inch  long  when  mature.  Seeds 
obovoid,  smooth,  nearly  a  half-inch  long,  mottled,  and  caruncled. 
(Fig.  183.) 

Means  of  control 

Cutting,  again  and  again  cutting,  throughout  the  growing  season, 
with  a  sharp  steel  hoe  or  a  cultivator  with  broad  and  very  sharp 
blades,  in  order  to  starve  the  roots  and  prevent  all  seed  production. 

HOGWORT 

Croton  capitdtus,  Michx. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:  August  to  October. 

Range :   New  Jersey  to  Iowa,  southward  to  Georgia  and  Texas. 

Habitat:   Dry,  sandy  fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

A  very  common  and  troublesome  weed  in  the  southern  part  of 
our  area,  particularly  in  the  Gulf  States.  Stem  one  to  two  feet 
in  height,  erect,  branching,  densely  soft-woolly  with  star-shaped 
hairs.  Leaves  also  finely  woolly  on  both  sides,  silvery  green, 
oblong  lance-shape  with  rounded  or  heart-shaped  base,  entire, 
the  larger  lower  ones  with  petioles  about  as  long  as  the  blades, 
those  near  the  top  short-petioled.  Flowers  clustered  at  the  summit 
of  stem  and  branches  ;  they  are  monoecious,  the  sterile  ones  lifted 
on  a  short  raceme,,  at  the  base  of  which  the  fertile  ones  are  crowded 


262 


EUPHOBBIACEAE  (SPURGE  FAMILY) 


on  very  short  pedicels ; 
sterile  flowers  with  five- 
parted  calyx,  five  spatu- 
late  fringed  petals  alter- 
nating with  as  many 
glands,  usually  ten  sta- 
mens, or  sometimes  more, 
with  filaments  finely 
bearded  below ;  fertile 
flowers  with  seven-  to 
twelve-lobed  calyx,  no 
petals,  and  three  styles 
twice  or  thrice  cleft. 
Seeds  gray  or  brownish, 
rounded  oblong,  with  a 
tiny  knob  or  caruncle  at 
the  point;  they  are  often 
an  impurity  of  southern 
alfalfa  seed.  (Fig.  184.) 


Means  of  control 

FIG.  184.-HogWOTt  (Cretan  capita^.  X  J.  preveni  seed  produc- 
tion. Infested  grass  crops  should  even  be  harvested  too  early, 
in  order  to  prevent  continued  fouling  of  the  ground.  Roadsides 
and  waste  places  should  be  mown  often  enough  to  guard  neighbor- 
ing soil  from  contamination. 

THREE-SEEDED   MERCURY 

Acalypha  virginica,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Wax-balls,  Copper-leaf. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   June  to  September. 

Seed-time:    August  to  November. 

Range:     Nova   Scotia   to   Minnesota,    southward   to   Florida   and 

Texas. 
Habitat :   Rich,  moist  soil ;   a  common  barnyard  weed  and  a  special 

nuisance  in  clover  fields. 

The  seeds  of  this  weed,  when  an  impurity  in  those  of  clover, 
are  so  nearly  of  the  same  size  and  weight  that  they  are  almost  im- 


EUPHORBIACEAE  (SPURGE  FAMILY) 


263 


possible  to  remove.  Professor  Selby,  of  the  Ohio  State  Experiment 
Station,  wisely  remarks  that  "the  time  to  remove  such  seeds  is 
before  the  clover  is  cut." 

Stem  six  inches  to  two  feet  high, 
erect,  somewhat  hairy,  often  purplish 
or  brown.  Leaves  alternate,  two  to 
four  inches  in  length,  long  ovate,  thin, 
dark  green,  often  turning  to  a  cop- 
pery brown,  coarsely  toothed  except 
near  the  base.  In  their  axils  are  the 
inconspicuous  greenish  flowers,  male 
and  female  separate,  but  growing 
from  the  same  point,  the  staminate 
ones  being  lifted  on  a  tiny  spike,  the 
fertile  ones  just  below,  and  both  sup- 
ported by  a  large,  leafy,  cut-lobed 
bract,  longer  than  either,  usually 
about  a  half  inch  high.  Capsules 
three-celled,  each  cavity  containing 
one  dull  reddish  brown  or  gray  seed, 
egg-shaped,  and  easily  crushed  be- 
tween the  fingers,  which  is  the  reason  FIG.  185.  —  T  h  r  e  e  -  s  e  e  d  e  d 
why  they  are  called  Wax-balls.  (Fig.  Mercury  (Acalypha  virginica). 


185.) 


xi. 


Means  of  control 

Pulling  or  cutting  the  weeds  before  any  seeds  have  matured. 
Land  badly  fouled  by  the  seeds  should  be  put  to  a  profitable  and 
thoroughly  tilled  hoed  crop  for  a  season. 


THYME-LEAVED   SPURGE 

Euphorbia  serpyllifolia,  Pers. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   May  to  September. 

Seed-time:   June  to  October. 

Range:   Michigan  to  California,  southward  to  Mexico,  Texas,  and 

Florida. 
Habitat :  Sandy,  alluvial  soils ;  fields,  gardens,  waste  places. 


264  EUPHORBIACEAE  (SPURGE  FAMILY) 

A  common,  worthless,  and  prolific  little  plant,  not  so  much  de- 
tested as  it  deserves  to  be,  for  it  and  all  its  kindred  are  more  or  less 
poisonous,  their  growth  serving  merely  to  impoverish  the  ground 
and  befoul  it  with  seeds  for  another  generation. 

Stem  four  inches  to  a  foot  in  length,  branching  from  the  base, 
declining  or  prostrate,  slender,  smooth,  usually  green  on  the  under 
side  but  red  where  exposed  to  the  light,  filled  with  a  poisonous 
milky  juice.  Leaves  also  reddish  or  red-spotted,  opposite,  less 
than  a  half-inch  long,  obovate  or  spatulate,  obtuse,  unequal-sided, 
finely  and  sharply  toothed  for  about  half  their  length,  short- 
petioled,  with  narrow  stipules  ending  in  a  fringe  of  weak  bristles. 
Spurge  flowers  have  neither  calyx  nor  corolla,  but  are  monoecious 
after  an  odd  fashion ;  there  is  a  funnel-shaped  involucre  on  a  short 
terminal  peduncle,  in  this  case  appearing  lateral  but  not  really 
axillary,  bearing  four  small,  disk-like  glands,  each  subtended  by  a 
narrow,  toothed  appendage ;  within  the  involucre  are  several  male 
flowers,  each  consisting  of  a  single  stamen  on  a  pedicel  subtended 
by  a  tiny  bract ;  fertile  flower  a  single  three-celled,  three-styled,  and 
three-seeded  ovary,  at  first  in  the  bottom  of  the  involucre  but  soon 
thrust  out  on  a  slender  stipe  and  ripening  in  the  outer  air  into  a 
nodding  capsule  with  three  carpels,  each  holding  one  seed ;  in  this 
species  the  latter  are  hardly  one-twelfth  of  an  inch  long,  sharply 
four-angled,  the  faces  cross-wrinkled  and  pitted. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  ubiquitous  Spotted  Spurge. 

UPRIGHT   SPOTTED   SPURGE 

Euphdrbia  Preslii,  Guss. 
(Euphdrbia  niitans,  Lag.) 

Other  English  names:   Stubble  Spurge,  Pasture  Spurge,  Eyebright, 

Slobber  Weed. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   May  to  October. 
Seed-time:   June  to  November. 
Range:  All  of  North  America  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  except 

the  extreme  north. 
Habitat:    Dry  fields  and  meadows,  old  pastures,  roadsides,  and 

waste  places. 

Dry  stubbles  sometimes  seem  to  redden  with  young  Spurges  in  a 
few  days  after  harvest,  but  usually  the  stalks  were  already  there 


EUPHOBBIACEAE  (SPURGE  FAMILY)  265 

and  it  is  their  rapid  stooling  after  beheading  that  causes  the  swift 
appearance.  Its  acrid,  milky  juice  is  credited  with  causing  "  slob- 
bers" in  grazing  cattle  and  horses,  and  another  symptom  of  Spurge 
poisoning  is  a  wide-staring,  glassy  brightness  of  eyes,  whence  the 
common  names.  (Fig.  186.) 

It  is  a  graceful  plant,  with  slender,  round,  wiry,  reddish  stem, 
six  inches  to  two  feet  or  more  in  height,  smooth  or  nearly  so,  fork- 
branched  and  spreading.  Leaves  nar- 
rowly oblong,  varying  to  ovate,  or 
sometimes  lance-shape  and  slightly 
curved,  a  half  inch  to  an  inch  long, 
often  with  unequal  sides,  usually  with 
red  margins  and  a  brownish  red  blotch 
in  the  center,  finely  and  sharply 
toothed,  with  short  petioles  and  tri- 
angular stipules.  Flowers  on  peduncles 
longer  than  the  petioles,  the  involucres 
narrowly  obovoid,  the  four  glands  sub- 
tended by  rounded,  entire,  white  or 
red  appendages.  Pods  smooth,  the 
seeds  grayish  black,  long  ovoid,  obtusely 
four-angled,  wrinkled  and  tubercled 
between.  They  are  nearly  always 
found  in  clover  and  grass  seed. 

Means  of  control 

FIG.  186.  —  Upright  Spotted 

Burn  over  infested  stubbles  in  order   Spurge     (Euphorbia     Preslii). 
to  kill  the  stalks  and  destroy  the  seeds    x  *• 

on  the  surface  of  the  ground.  On  cultivated  ground,  per- 
sistently hoe-cut  or  hand-pull  the  weed  before  seed  matures. 
Infested  meadows  should  be  put  to  some  well-tilled  crop,  liberally 
fertilized,  before  reseeding  heavily  to  grass  or  clover. 

HAIRY  SPURGE 

Euphdrbia  hirsiita,  Wiegand 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   June  to  September. 


266  EUPHOEBIACEAE  (SPURGE  FAMILY) 

Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range:    Quebec  and  Ontario,  southward  to  New  Jersey,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Ohio,  and  Illinois. 
Habitat :   Dry,  sandy  soil ;   fields,  roadsides,  waste  places. 

A  very  common,  small,  and  spreading  plant,  with  hairy  stems 
three  to  ten  inches  long,  branching  from  the  base,  zigzagged  and 
forking,  nearly  prostrate.  Leaves  oblong-ovate,  from  a  quarter- 
inch  to  a  half-inch  long,  finely  toothed  nearly  to  the  oblique  base, 
the  petioles  extremely  short.  Flowers  on  peduncles  considerably 
longer  than  the  petioles,  the  involucres  funnel-shaped,  bearing  four 
stalked  brown  glands,  concave  at  top,  and  subtended  by  white, 
slightly  toothed  appendages.  Pods  smooth,  with  rounded  angles ; 
seeds  black  with  a  pale  transparent  coating,  sharply  four-angled, 
faintly  wrinkled  on  the  sides  between. 

Measures  for  its  suppression  the  same  as  for  Spotted  Spurge. 


SPOTTED   SPURGE 
Euphorbia  maculata,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Creeping  Spurge,  Milk  Purslane,  Spotted 

Matweed. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  June  to  October. 
Seed-time:   July  to  November. 

Range:   Throughout  the  American  Continent  except  the  far  North. 
Habitat:   Gardens,  fields,  roadsides.     Found  in  all  crops,  but  most 

common  in  dry  soil  of  low  fertility. 

Of  all  the  Spurges,  this  one  seems  the  most  hardy  and  adaptable, 
able  to  grow  anywhere  and  to  endure  any  hardship  ;  it  often  appears 
from  the  cracks  of  flags  and  paving  stones  in  cities,  and  flourishes 
while  being  trodden  under  foot.  From  such  a  place  the  writer 
pulled  the  thrifty  specimen  from  which  this  description  is  written. 
Every  part  of  it,  even  the  root,  exudes  a  poisonous  milky  juice 
which  will  irritate  the  skin  to  a  red  rash  or  in  a  short  time  blister  it. 
Apparently  nothing  eats  the  weed,  even  insects  leaving  it  untouched. 
(Fig.  187.) 

It  has  rather  long,  branching,  and  fibrous  roots,  with  many 
fine  feeding  rootlets.  Stem  round,  slender,  finely  hairy,  pros- 
trate, three  inches  to  a  foot  or  more  in  length,  with  numerous 


EUPHORBIACEAE  (SPURGE  FAMILY)  267 

branches  extended  in  all  directions,  red  where  exposed  to  the 
light  but  green  underneath.  Leaves  opposite,  oblong,  from  a 
quarter-inch  to  nearly  an  inch  in  length,  short-petioled,  very  finely 
toothed,  usually  with  a  purplish  brown 
spot  near  the  center ;  stipules  nearly  linear, 
tipped  with  a  fringe  of  bristles.  Flowers 
on  peduncles  about  as  long  as  the  petioles, 
the  involucres  bearing  four  minute,  cup- 
shaped  glands  with  narrow  red  appendages. 
Pods  angled  and  hairy,  with  ash-gray, 
four-angled  seeds  which  are  a  frequent  im- 
purity in  the  seeds  of  grass  and  clover. 

Means  of  control 

In  cultivated  ground,  persistent  hoe- 
cutting  as  soon  as  the  first  flowers  appear. 
Grasslands  badly  infested  should  be  put 

under  cultivation,   the  ground   being  fer-  „ 

°               .          ~  tiG.    187.  —  bpotted 

tihzed    well    before    reseedmg    heavily   to  Spurge  (Euphorbia  macu- 

grass  or  clover.  &»**)•    x  2- 

SNOW-ON-THE-MOUNTAIN 

Euphorbia  margindta,  Pursh. 

Other  English  name:  White-margined  Spurge. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   May  to  September. 

Seed-time:   June  to  October. 

Range:    Minnesota  to  Colorado,  southward  to  Texas,    spreading 

eastward   to   Ohio ;     introduced   in   Eastern   States   and   freely 

escaping. 
Habitat :   Dry  soil ;   fields,  pastures,  waste  places. 

The  handsomest  of  our  native  Spurges,  but  dangerous  to  handle, 
as  the  copious  milky  juice  when  in  contact  with  the  skin  causes  a 
swelling  and  eruption  similar  to  that  produced  by  Poison  Ivy; 
persons  unacquainted  with  its  quality  often  pluck  it  for  its  beauty 
and  suffer  for  it.  Honey  made  from  its  flowers  is  poisonous  and 
unfit  to  use,  acting  as  a  violent  emetic  and  purge. 

Stem  rather  stout,  two  to  three  feet  tall,  erect,  slightly  grooved, 


268  EUPHORBIACEAE  (SPURGE  FAMILY) 

usually  hairy.  Leaves  oblong-ovate,  pointed,  entire,  sessile,  those 
on  the  stalk  few  and  scattered,  with  a  whorl  at  the  base  of  the 
umbel,  which  has  usually  three  fork-branched  rays;  the  bracts 
subtending  the  involucres  are  large,  numerous,  whorled,  broadly 
margined  with  white,  very  showy ;  involucres  clustered  in  the  center, 
bellshaped,  softly  downy,  bearing  five  glands  subtended  by  white, 
kidney-shaped  appendages.  Capsule  depressed,  with  rounded  lobes, 
usually  hairy ;  seeds  bluntly  ovoid,  dark  ash-gray,  netted,  and 
tubercled. 

Means  of  control 

Cut  repeatedly,  close  to  the  ground,  permitting  no  seed  to  be 
perfected. 

FLOWERING   SPURGE 

Euphdrbia  corollata,  L. 

Other  English  names:  White-flowered  Milkweed,  Poison  Milkweed. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  October. 

Seed-time:   July  to  November. 

Range:     Ontario    to    Minnesota,    southward    to    Kansas,    Texas, 

Louisiana,  and  Florida. 
Habitat:   Dry  fields,  old  pastures,  waste  places. 

The  deep,  perennial  rootstocks  of  this  weed  make  it  very  dif- 
ficult to  suppress.  Grazing  animals  usually  avoid  it,  seeming  to 
know  the  quality  of  its  milky  sap,  which  is  acrid  and  strongly 
emetic. 

Stem  ten  inches  to  two  feet  or  more  in  height,  bright  green,  erect, 
smooth  or  sometimes  slightly  hairy,  often  spotted,  unbranched 
below  the  flower-cluster.  Leaves  narrowly  oblong  to  lance-shape, 
obtuse  at  apex,  smooth,  rather  thick,  entire,  one  or  two  inches 
long,  sessile  or  with  very  short  petioles ;  those  at  the  base  of  the 
umbel  whorled,  but  those  on  the  stem  scattering.  Rays  of  the 
umbel  slender,  usually  five,  each  again  twice  or  thrice  fork-branched, 
the  flowers  at  the  base  of  the  forks  being  several  weeks  earlier  than 
the  terminal  ones ;  involucres  on  long  peduncles,  the  five  greenish 
yellow  glands  at  the  tip  being  subtended  by  large,  white,  rounded 
appendages  simulating  petals.  Pod  smooth,  containing  three 


XUPHORBIACEAE  (SPURGE  FAMILY)  269 

bluntly  ovoid,  ash-colored  seeds,  about  a  twelfth  of  an  inch  long, 
smooth  or  faintly  pitted. 

Means  of  control 

Small  areas  or  scattering  plants  are  most  quickly  and  economi- 
cally ousted,  by  grubbing  up  the  rootstocks  or  by  treating  with  a 
strong  herbicide  such  as  hot  brine  or  caustic  soda.  Infestations 
too  large  to  make  such  treatment  practicable  should  be  closely  and 
repeatedly  cut  during  the  growing  season,  thus  preventing  any  seed 
formation  and  starving  the  rootstocks,  the  process  being  kept  up 
for  at  least  two  seasons.  Or  the  land  may  be  put  under  thorough 
cultivation,  well  fertilized,  and  then  seeded  to  grass  or  clover. 

TOOTHED    SPURGE 
Euphdrbia  dentdta,  Michx. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:  August  to  November. 

Range :  Pennsylvania  to  Wyoming,  south- 
ward to  Louisiana,  Texas,  and  Mexico. 

Habitat :  Rich,  moist  soil ;  fields,  meadows, 
waste  places. 

A  robust-looking,  grossly  feeding  weed, 
transforming  into  its  poisonous  foliage 
much  of  the  fertility  needed  by  its  whole- 
some neighbors.  Stem  eight  to  twenty 
inches  high,  somewhat  woody  at  base, 
erect  and  branching.  Leaves  two  to  four 
inches  long,  the  upper  ones  opposite  but 
at  base  alternate,  varying  in  shape  from 
ovate  to  nearly  linear,  coarsely  toothed, 
hairy,  with  prominent  veins  on  the  under 
side,  and  with  hairy  petioles.  Involucres 
in  clusters  at  the  ends  of  stem  and  branches 
on  very  short  peduncles ;  they  are  bell- 
shaped,  with  five  oblong,  sharply  toothed  FlG.  18S.  _  To0thed  Spurge 
lobes,  bearing  usually  one  or  sometimes  (Euphorbia  dentata).  x  J. 


270  EUPHORBIACEAE  (SPURGE  FAMILY) 

several  short- stalked,  yellowish  glands  without  appendages. 
Capsules  smooth,  with  rounded  angles,  nearly  one-sixth  of  an 
inch  in  diameter.  Seeds  ashy-gray,  obscurely  four-angled,  bluntly 
ovoid,  the  surface  tuberculate ;  they  are  often  an  impurity  of  grass 
and  clover  seeds.  (Fig.  188.) 

Means  of  control 

Infested  meadows  should  be  harvested  early,  before  the  first 
flowers  mature  seed.  The  poisonous  qualities  of  the  milky  juice 
are  volatile  and  disappear  with  heat  or  drying,  and  such  hay  is 
wholesome.  In  grain  fields  the  seedlings  should  be  harrowed  out 
in  the  spring,  for  the  spreading  habit  of  growth  of  the  plant  will 
crowd  and  starve  the  crop ;  if  practicable,  hand-pull  the  survivors ; 
if  not,  burn  over  the  stubble.  In  cultivated  ground  tillage  should 
be  late  in  order  to  prevent  the  maturing  of  late-developed  seed. 

PAINTED   LEAF 

Euphorbia  heterophylla,  L. 
(Poinsettia  heterophylla,  Small) 

Other  English  names:   Cruel  Plant,  Various-leaved  Spurge. 

Native.     Annual  or  biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   May  to  October. 

Seed-time:   June  to  November. 

Range:    Illinois  to  Montana,   southward  to  Mexico,  Texas,  and 

Florida.     Widely  distributed  in  tropical  America. 
Habitat :   Dry,  sandy  soil ;   fields,  waste  places. 

The  milky  juice  of  this  plant,  like  that  of  all  its  tribe,  will  irritate 
and  blister  the  skin,  and,  if  eaten  by  stock,  will  have  a  like  effect 
on  the  inner  membranes  and  make  the  animals  very  sick ;  another 
reason  for  its  name  of  Cruel  Plant  is  that  honey  gathered  from  its 
flowers  is  acrid  and  emetic  and  unfit  for  use. 

Stems  one  to  three  feet  tall,  erect,  smooth  or  nearly  so,  bright 
green,  woody  at  base,  with  numerous  branches,  the  lower  spreading, 
the  upper  ones  ascending.  Leaves  alternate  and  all  with  slender 
petioles,  but  most  variable  in  shape,  some  being  round,  or  ovate, 
or  lance-shaped,  or  linear,  with  edges  entire  or  toothed  or  wavy, 
often  on  the  same  plant;  sometimes  the  upper  leaves  are  fiddle- 


SUPHORBIACEAE  (SPURGE  FAMILY)  271 

shaped,  and  to  add  to  their  oddity  are  blotched  with  deep  red. 
The  involucres  are  in  terminal  clusters,  each  on  a  peduncle  of  about 
its  own  length,  with  five  much  incised,  ovate  lobes,  bearing  usually 
one,  occasionally  several,  cup-shaped  glands,  which  are  sessile  or 
nearly  so,  and  without  appendages.  Seeds  nearly  globular, 
roughened  with  small  tubercles. 

Means  of  control 

If  not  too  numerous,  the  plants  are  best  destroyed  by  hand- 
pulling  as  soon  as  observed ;  or  by  cutting  so  closely  and  frequently 
that  no  seed  will  be  allowed  to  mature. 


LEAFY   SPURGE 
Euphdrbia  Esula,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Tithymal,  Faitour's  Grass. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  August. 

Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range :   Southern  Maine  to  New  Jersey,  westward  to  Michigan. 

Habitat:   Roadsides,  waste  places. 

Not  a  common  weed  in  this  country  as  yet,  and  should 
not  be  permitted  to  become  so,  for  its  creeping,  horizontal 
rootstocks  make  it  difficult  to  dislodge  when  once  established; 
like  the  Cypress  Spurge  it  grows  in  patches,  smothering  all 
weaker  growths  in  its  way. 

Stems  thickly  clustered,  ten  inches  to  two  feet  tall,  erect,  slender, 
scaly  at  base,  smooth  above,  branching  near  the  top.  Leaves 
narrowly  oblong  to  lance-shape,  a  half-inch  to  nearly  two  inches  in 
length,  entire,  sessile,  whorled  at  the  base  of  the  umbel,  few  and 
scattering  on  the  stalk.  Umbel  compound,  its  many  rays  fork- 
branched  and  bearing  numerous  opposite,  greenish  yellow  bracts, 
broadly  heart-shaped,  with  midvein  extended  in  a  minute  bristle; 
involucres  bell-shaped,  nearly  sessile,  bearing  four  unappendaged, 
crescent-shaped  brown  glands.  Capsule  smooth,  nodding  on  a 
lone;  stipe;  the  seeds  drab-gray,  oblong,  round  and  smooth,  car- 
uncled  at  base. 


272  EUPHORBIACEAE  (SPURGE  FAMILY) 

Means  of  control 

Small  areas,  newly  infested,  should  be  grubbed  out  or  destroyed 
with  hot  brine  or  caustic  soda.  Where  too  abundant  to  make  such 
treatment  practicable,  close,  persistent  cutting,  in  order  to  starve 
the  roots  and  prevent  all  seed  development,  will  finally  suppress 
the  weed. 

SUN   SPURGE 

Euphorbia  Helioscopia,  L. 

Other  English  names :  Wartgrass,  Wartweed,  Sunweed, 
Little-good,  Cat's  Milk,  Wolf's  Milk,  Mouse-Milk. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  October. 

Seed-time:  July  to  November. 

Range:  Eastern  Quebec  to  Ontario,  southward  to 
Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  and  Illinois. 

Habitat :   Fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

An  immigrant  from  Europe,  abundant  in  its 
range,  which  is  gradually  extending.  Its  milky  juice 
is  exceedingly  copious,  and  so  acrid  that  it  is  used 
as  a  caustic  to  destroy  warts.  (Fig.  189.) 

Stem  stout,  smooth,  eight  to  fifteen  inches  tall, 
often  branched  from  the  base.  Leaves  obovate, 
rounded  at  tips,  finely  toothed,  whorled  and  sessile 
at  the  base  of  the  umbel,  but  those  on  the  stalk 
scattering  and  tapered  to  a  short  petiole.  Umbel 
compound,  the  rays  usually  five,  first  triply 
branching  and  then  each  branch  forked;  in- 
volucres bell-shaped,  with  unappendaged,  round, 
stalked  glands.  Capsule  smooth,  with  rounded 
FIG.  189. —  lobes;  seeds  ovoid,  reddish  brown,  the  surface 

S(Euph*£2THl  netted  and  Pitted  like  a  honeycomb. 

lioscopid).   x  i-       Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Spotted  Spurge. 

CYPRESS   SPURGE 
Euphdrbia  Cyparissias,  L. 

Other  English  name:   Quack  Salver's  Grass. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 


ANACARDIACEAE  (CASHEW  FAMILY) 


273 


Time  of  bloom:  June  to  September. 

Seed-time:  July  to  November. 

Range:   Eastern  part  of  the  United  States. 

Habitat :  Fields,  roadsides,  waste  places ;  frequent  in  cemeteries. 

An  escape  from  flower  gardens  and  cemeteries,  where  it  should 
never  be  given  a  place,  for  it  is  as  pervading  and  uncontrollable  as 
Toad-flax.  Its  tough,  horizontal,  creeping  rootstocks  cause  it  to 
grow  in  dense  patches,  choking  out  all  other  growth.  In  pastures 
it  is  said  to  be  very  injurious  to  grazing  cattle,  but  the  writer's 
observation  has  been  that  cattle  avoid  it. 

Stems  thickly  clustered,  six  inches  to  a  foot 
in  height,  erect,  scaly  at  base,  very  leafy  above, 
with  few  branches.  Leaves  linear,  deep  green, 
smooth,  those  subtending  the  umbels  whorled, 
those  on  the  stalks  alternate,  crowded,  and  ses- 
sile. Rays  of  the  umbel  very  numerous,  the 
flowers  subtended  by  greenish  yellow,  heart- 
shaped  bracts ;  involucres  top-shaped,  bearing 
four  crescent-shaped  glands  without  appendages. 
Pods  rounded  and  granular,  with  smooth,  oblong, 
ash-gray  seeds,  caruncled  at  base.  (Fig.  190.) 

Means  of  control 

FIG.  190.  —  Cy- 

Close  cutting  just  at  blooming  time  when  the    press  Spurge  (Eu- 
rootstocks    are    most   depleted    of    their    stored    phorbia     Cyparis- 
nutriment,  using  salt  to  retard  recovery.     Small 
areas  are  most  quickly  dealt  with  by  grubbing  out  and  destroying 
the  rootstocks. 

POISON  SUMAC 
Rhiis  Vernix,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Swamp  Sumac,  Poison  Dogwood,  Poison  Ash, 
Poison  Elder,  Thunderwood. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  June. 

Seed-time:   Fruit  ripe  in  late  summer  but  retained  until  winter. 

Range:  New  England  and  southern  Ontario  to  Minnesota,  south- 
ward to  Florida  and  Louisiana. 

Habitat:  Swamps. 


274 


ANACARD1ACEAE  (CASHEW  FAMILY) 


"Berries  white,  dread  the  sight; 
Berries  red,  have  no  dread," 

used  to  be  repeated  in  distinguishing  the  harmless  sumacs  from  their 
"dreaded"  relative,  which  is  a  shrub  six  to  twenty  feet  in  height, 
and  hardly  to  be  called  a  weed,  but  included  here  since,  because  of 
its  beautiful  autumnal  coloring,  it  is  frequently  brought  from  its 

home  in  the  swamps  for  house 
decoration — usually  to  the  ex 
ceeding  great  bodily  distress 
of  the  person  who  plucked  it, 
for  it  is  even  more  poisonous 
than  its  relative,  Poison  Ivy. 
(Fig.  191.) 

Leaves  pinnately  compound, 
the  leaflets  seven  to  thirteen, 
obovate,  smooth,  thin,  entire, 
green  on  both  sides,  the  slen- 
der petiole  slightly  swollen  at 
the  base.  Flowers  in  axillary 
clusters  three  to  eight  inches 
long,  very  small,  greenish  white, 
similar  to  those  of  Poison  Ivy. 
Fruit  a  cluster  of  greenish  white, 


FIG. 


191.  —  Poison   Sumac   (Rhus  Ver- 
nix).     X  J. 


Poison  Ivy. 
the  same. 


waxy  drupes,    each  with   one 
hard,   ridgy  seed   within,  like 
Remedies  for  the  effects  of  its  poisonous  touch  are 


POISON  IVY 


Rhus  Toxicodendron,  L. 
(Rhus  radicans,  L.) 

Other  English  names:    Poison  Oak,  Poison  Creeper,  Three-leaved 

Ivy,  Climath,  Black  Mercury,  Markweed. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 
Time  of  bloom :   Late  May  to  July. 
Seed-time :  Fruits  attain  full  size  in  August  but  remain  on  the  stem 

until  late  in  winter. 
Range:    Nova  Scotia  to  British  Columbia,  southward  to  Florida, 

Arkansas,  and  Utah. 
Habitat:    Roadsides  and  waste  places,  fence  rows,  and  borders  of 

woods. 


ANACARDIACEAE  (CASHEW  FAMILY) 


275 


A  very  poisonous  plant,  far  too  common  everywhere,  for  to  many 
persons  the  touch  of  it  brings  disaster,  blotching  the  skin  with  burn- 
ing "  water-blisters  "  and  causing  the  flesh  beneath  to  swell  hideously 
and  throb  with  a  pain  so  intense  as  to  be  alarming.  Fortunately 
such  an  attack  leaves  no  scars  and  the  general  health  is  not  injured. 
Chemical  analysis  has  shown  that  the  poison  is  a  nonvolatile  oil, 
found  in  all  parts  of  the  plant,  even  the  seasoned  wood,  but  espe- 
cially in  the  growing  leaves.  It  is  insoluble  in  water,  therefore  wash- 
ing the  skin  after  contact  merely  serves 
to  spread  the  trouble;  but  alcohol  will 
at  once  dissolve  and  remove  it,  and, 
if  applied  soon  enough,  will  prove  the 
prevention  that  is  better  than  cure. 
If  too  late  for  that,  a  little  powdered 
sugar  of  lead,  dissolved  in  alcohol, 
will  check  the  eruption  and  soothe  the 
pain.  This  remedy  is  also  a  poison, 
and  care  must  be  taken  to  keep  it 
out  of  eyes  and  mouth,  and  of  course 
it  should  not  be  used  if  the  vesicles 
have  broken;  in  such  case  dilute  ex- 
tract of  Grindelia  will  check  their 
spread  and  soothe  the  smart. 

The  plant  is  sometimes  an  erect  and 
bushy  shrub,  sometimes  prostrate  and 
trailing,  sometimes  a  long,  woody  vine, 
climbing  tall  trees  by  means  of  aerial 
rootlets.  Leaves  compound,  with  three 

leaflets,  ovate  to  rhombic,  pointed,  usually  entire  but  sometimes 
scalloped  or  irregularly  few-toothed,  the  two  lateral  ones  sessile  or 
on  very  short  stalks,  the  terminal  one  longer.  In  form  they  are 
somewhat  like  the  leaflets  of  the  Virginia  Creeper,  or  Woodbine 
(Ps'cdera  quinquefblia) ,  but  it  should  be  remembered  that  those  are 
five  in  number  like  the  fingers  of  the  hand,  and  can  be  safely  handled; 
but  "Leaflets  three,  let  it  be."  Flowers  in  loose,  axillary  panicles, 
small,  greenish  white,  with  five-parted  calyx,  five  petals,  five  sta- 
mens and  one-celled  ovary.  Fruit  also  greenish  white,  smooth, 
and  waxy,  dangling  in  clusters  of  about  the  size  of  small  currants, 


FIG.  192.  —  Poison  Ivy  (Rhus 
Toxicodendrori).     X  £• 


276  MALVACEAE  (MALLOW  FAMILY) 

each  containing  one  hard  seed.  Crows  and  other  birds  eat  the 
fruits,  apparently  without  harm,  and  void  them  along  fences  and 
telephone  routes.  The  pest  is  increasing  throughout  the  country, 
for  most  people  are  so  afraid  of  it  that  it  is  left  unmolested  to 
multiply  its  kind.  (Fig.  192.) 

Means  of  control 

Some  fortunate  persons  are  quite  immune  to  the  bad  effects  of 
the  plant,  and  one  of  these  might  be  hired  to  grub  it  out  and  burn 
it,  taking  care  that  no  one  inhales  the  intensely  irritant  smoke  or 
gets  it  in  the  eyes.  Or  a  few  drops  of  sulf uric  acid  (handle  with 
care),  applied  every  few  days  to  the  woody  stem  near  the  roots, 
will  kill  the  plant ;  or  hot  brine  or  caustic  soda  will  destroy  it. 

INDIAN   MALLOW 

Abutilon  Theophrdsti,  Medic. 
(Abutilon  Avicennoe,  Gaertn.) 

Other  English  names:   Velvet  Leaf,  American  Jute,  Butter  Print. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   July  to  October. 

Seed-time:    August  to  November. 

Range:   Maine  to  South  Dakota,  southward  to  Florida  and  Texas. 

Also  on  the  Pacific  Slope. 
Habitat :   Rich  soil ;   cultivated  ground,  farm  yards,  waste  places. 

Once  established  and  allowed  to  mature  fruit,  this  is  a  most 
persistent  weed,  for  the  seed  has  been  known  to  survive  in  the  soil 
for  more  than  fifty  years.  The  inner  bark  of  the  plant  yields  a  fine, 
strong  fiber  which  may  be  made  into  twine,  rope,  or  paper,  whence 
the  name  of  American  Jute ;  but  this  is  a  misnomer,  for  the  plant 
is  a  native  of  Asia,  where  it  is  cultivated  for  its  fiber.  (Fig.  193.) 

Stem  stout,  erect,  round,  softly  hairy,  three  to  six  feet  in  height, 
and  branching  widely.  Leaves  alternate,  pointed-heart-shaped, 
three  inches  to  nearly  a  foot  broad,  velvety  above  and  below  with 
a  dense  coat  of  exceedingly  fine,  soft  hair ;  petioles  slender  and 
nearly  as  long  as  the  blades.  Flowers  solitary  in  the  axils,  each 
about  a  half-inch  broad,  with  five  yellow  petals  and  a  velvety 
green,  five-lobed  calyx,  many  stamens,  united  in  a  ring  around 


MALVACEAE  (MALLOW  FAMILY) 


277 


the  several  pistils  which  are  also 
united  at  the  base,  but  distinct 
above,  projecting  beyond  the  sta- 
mens. The  compound  seed-vessel 
is  much  larger  than  the  flower,  being 
about  an  inch  broad,  composed  of  a 
ring  of  twelve  to  fifteen  awn-tipped 
carpels,  splitting  at  the  top  when 
ripe  and  each  containing  three  to 
nine  seeds,  which  are  rounded  kidney- 
shaped,  grayish  brown,  slightly  rough, 
about  one-eighth  of  an  inch  long. 
These  seeds  are  shaken  from  the 
carpels  by  winter  winds  and  blown 
for  long  distances  over  crusted  snow. 

Means  of  control 

Cut    or    pull    the   plants  while  in 
early  bloom.     Seedlings   that   bloom 
late,   even   after  corn    is    harvested,   FIG.      193.  —  Indian     Mallow 
may  produce  enough  seed  to  foul  the      (Abutilon  Theophrastf).    x  I 
ground ;   plants  bearing  unripe  seed-vessels  should  be  burned,  as 
they  will  ripen  on  the  stalks. 


RED   FALSE   MALLOW 
Malvdstrum  cocclneum,  Gray 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   May  to  August. 

Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range:    Manitoba  to  British  Columbia,  southward  to  Texas  and 

New  Mexico. 
Habitat :    Dry  prairies,  hillsides  ;   wild  pastures. 

The  Greek  name  of  this  weed  means  Star-mallow,  and  the  whole 
plant  is  silvery  gray  with  stiff,  star-shaped  hairs,  which  are  said  to 
have  a  bad  effect  on  the  digestive  tracts  of  grazing  cattle  and 
horses,  though  sheep  seem  to  take  no  harm  and  appear  to  be  very 
fond  of  the  plant.  In  some  localities  it  has  been  suspected  of  being 


278  MALVACEAE  (MALLOW  FAMILY) 

poisonous,  but  Pammel *  states  that  "  there  is  no  evidence  to  sup- 
port this  view."     (Fig.  194.) 

Stems  two  to  ten  inches  in  height,  growing  in  tufts  from  a  peren- 
nial deep-boring  taproot.  Alternate  leaves  but 
one  or  two  inches  long,  rounded  oval  in  outline 
but  deeply  three-  to  five-lobed  and  the  seg- 
ments again  incised ;  lower  leaves  with  slender 
petioles  but  those  above  nearly  sessile.  Flowers 
in  crowded  terminal  racemes  on  each  of  the 
numerous  stalks,  brick  red  in  color,  each  blos- 
som a  half-inch  or  more  across,  the  five  petals 
often  slightly  notched  at  the  tips  and  longer 
than  the  pointed  calyx-lobes ;  styles  five  or 
more,  surrounded  by  the  ring  of  many  united 
stamens.  Carpels,  ten  to  fifteen,  rough,  net- 
veined,  and  usually  but  one-seeded. 

Means  of  control 

FIG    194  —Red        Infested  pastures  should  be  broken  up  and 
False  Mallow  (Mai-    reseeded  to  better  forage.     Until  this  is  done 
vastrum  coccineum).    sucn  weeds   can  be  guarded  against  only  by 
herding  away  from  them  the  animals  for  which 
they  seem  to  be  unwholesome. 

PRICKLY   SIDA 
Slda  spirited,  L. 

Other  English  names :  Thistle  Mallow,  Spiny  Sida. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   Late  May  to  September. 

Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range:    Maine   to   Michigan,   Iowa,   and   Kansas,   southward   to 

Florida  and  Texas. 
Habitat :     Dry   clay   soils ;     fields,   gardens,    pastures,   and   waste 

places. 

An  emigrant  from  tropical  America,  which  is  gradually  gaining 
ground  to  the  north  and  the  west.     Stems  eight  to  twenty  inches 

1  Manual  of  Poisonous  Plants. 


MALVACEAE  (MALLOW  FAMILY) 


279 


high,  erect,  much  branched,  downy-hairy. 
Leaves  alternate,  one  to  two  inches  long, 
ovate  to  lance-shaped,  scallop-toothed, 
downy-hairy,  with  base  rounded  or  abruptly 
narrowed  to  petioles  about  half  as  long  as 
the  blades ;  at  the  base  of  some  of  the 
larger  leaves  is  a  small,  pointed  tubercle, 
which  gives  the  plant  its  name  though  it  is 
hardly  long  enough  or  sharp  enough  to  be 
called  a  spine.  Flowers  light  yellow,  only 
about  a  quarter-inch  broad,  on  short  axillary 
peduncles  ;  calyx  with  five  teeth,  shorter  than 
the  obovoid  petals;  styles  five  with  undi- 
vided stigmas,  surrounded  by  united  sta- 
mens. Fruit  ovoid,  containing  five  carpels, 
each  splitting  at  the  top  into  two  beaks. 
Seeds  triangular,  smooth,  dark  brown. 
(Fig.  195.) 

Means  of  control 

Deep  hoe-cutting  while  in  early  bloom. 
Mowing  the  plants  leaves  stubs,  which  hasten 
to  produce  new  stalks  and  require  atten-  Fi«.  195.  -  Prickly  Sida 


tion  a  second  time ;  but  deep  cutting  kills. 


(Sida  spinosa).     X  i. 


PAROQUET  BUR 

(Sida,  acuta,  Burm.) 
(Sida  stipulata,  Cav.) 

Native.     Annual  or  perennial.     Propagates  by  seed. 

Time  of  bloom:  June  to  November. 

Seed-time:   July  to  December. 

Range:   The  Gulf  States  from  Florida  westward. 

Habitat :   Cultivated  crops,  pastures,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

Sheep  are  grown  in  the  South  more  for  mutton  than  for  fleece, 
but  the  value  of  the  latter  is  annually  damaged  to  a  large  amount 
by  the  hooked  carpels  of  this  weed,  the  distribution  of  which  is 
almost  entirely  due  to  animal  transportation. 


280 


MALVACEAE  (MALLOW  FAMILY) 


Stem  erect,  smooth  or  nearly  so,  and 
one  to  three  feet  tall.  Leaves  one  to 
four  inches  in  length,  oblong  to  lance- 
shape,  irregularly  toothed,  and  narrowed 
quite  abruptly  to  the  slender  petioles, 
which  are  about  half  as  long  as  the 
blades ;  stipules  conspicuous,  narrowly 
lance-shape  to  linear,  and  longer  than 
the  petioles.  Flowers  axillary,  growing 
singly  or  in  small  clusters,  yellow,  about 
an  inch  broad,  with  five  unequal  petals 
and  a  strongly  ridged,  five-lobed  calyx. 
Carpels  several  to  ten,  arranged  about  a 
central  axis,  netted  and  wrinkled  and 
with  two  incurving  beaks  at  the  top. 
(Fig.  196.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  development.  In  culti- 
vated ground  tillage  should  be  continued 

FIG.  196.  —  Paroquet  Bur  longer  than  usual,  in  order  to  hinder  the 
maturing  of  a  late  crop  of  seeds.  In 

other   places    the    weed    should    be   frequently   and    closely  cut 

throughout  the  growing  season. 


COMMON   MALLOW 
Mdlva  rotundifblia,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Dwarf  Mallow,   Running  Mallow,   Round 

Dock,  Cheeses,  Shirt-button  Plant,  Maul. 
Introduced.     Biennial  or  perennial.     Propagated  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   May  to  October. 
Seed-time:   June  to  November. 

Range:   Throughout  North  America  except  the  extreme  North. 
Habitat:   Cultivated  ground;   waste  places. 

The  deep,  branching  roots  of  this  plant  seem  to  spread  nearly 
as  far  beneath  the  soil  as  its  creeping  stems  spread  above  it ;  the 
latter  are  six  inches  to  nearly  two  feet  long,  round,  smooth,  branched 


MALVACEAE  (MALLOW  FAMILY) 


281 


at  the  base.  Leaves  rounded  or  kidney-shaped,  on  long,  slender 
petioles,  heart-shaped  at  base,  five-  to  nine-ribbed  and  -lobed, 
scallop-toothed,  with  edges  often 
crisped.  Flowers  pale  pink, 
veined  with  deeper  pink,  clus- 
tered or  single  in  the  axils  ;  calyx- 
lobes  five,  hairy,  ovate,  pointed, 
about  half  the  length  of  the 
petals,  which  are  notched  at  the 
outer  edge;  styles  many,  stig- 
matic  down  the  inner  side,  longer 
than  the  stamens  which  are 
united  in  a  column,  the  anthers 
at  the  summit,  the  pollen  grains 
very  large  and  white — 'like  pearls 
when  seen  through  a  lens.  Car- 
pels as  many  as  styles  arranged  FlG- 
in  a  circle,  one-seeded ;  when 
green  they  are  mucilaginous  and  sweet  —  the  "  cheeses "  that 
children  like  to  eat.  (Fig.  197.) 

Means  of  control 

Hand-pulling  or  deep  hoe-cutting  before  the  development  of  seed. 

MUSK   MALLOW 
Mdlva  moschata,  L. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  June  to  August. 

Seed-time:  July  to  September. 

Range:   Eastern  Canada,  New  England,  and  Middle  States. 

Habitat:  Meadows,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

A  very  handsome  plant,  an  escape  from  gardens,  objectionable 
in  meadows  and  pastures,  for  cattle  dislike  its  musky  odor  and 
hard,  woody  stalks  and  usually  leave  it  to  reproduce  itself.  Stems 
one  to  two  feet  high,  slender,  clothed  with  soft  hair  or  sometimes 
smooth.  Base-leaves  rounded,  with  five  to  nine  shallow,  scallop- 
toothed  lobes,  slender-petioled ;  stem-leaves  deeply  five-parted,  the 


282  MALVACEAE  (MALLOW  FAMILY) 

segments  again  deeply  cut  or  pinnatifid,  very  short-petioled. 
Flowers  clustered  at  the  ends  of  stem  and  branches  and  in  the 
upper  axils,  often  nearly  two  inches  broad,  pale  rose-color  or  white, 
pink-veined,  the  central  column  of  many  styles  and  anthers  nearly 
a  half-inch  in  height ;  calyx  with  five  short,  triangular-ovate,  very 
hairy  lobes.  Carpels  fifteen  to  twenty,  arranged  in  a  circle,  also 
densely  hairy. 

Means  of  control 

Close  cutting  before  the  development  of  any  seeds,    repeating 
the  treatment  as  the  plants  send  up  new  shoots  from  the  roots. 

BLADDER   KETMIA 
Hibiscus  Tribnum,  L. 

Other     English     names:      Flower-of-an-hour,     Goodnight-at-noon, 

Shoofly  Plant,  Venice  Mallow. 
Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 
Seed-time:    August  to  October. 
Range :  Nova  Scotia  to  Minnesota,  south- 
ward to  Florida. 

Habitat:     Cultivated    ground,    roadsides, 
waste  places. 

At  one  time  this  weed  was  much  helped 
in  its  wide  distribution  by  seedsmen  who 
recommended  it  as  an  ornamental  plant. 
But  for  that  purpose  its  beauty  is  too 
evanescent,  and  in  grain  field  and  garden 
it  has  proved  itself  extremely  obnoxious 
because  of  the  long  vitality  of  its  seeds ; 
ground  once  fouled  continues  to  produce 
plants  for  years,  as  cultivation  brings  the 
dormant  seeds  to  surface  light  and 
warmth.  (Fig.  198.) 

Stems  ten  to  twenty  inches  long, 
branched  from  the  base,  slender,  rather 
Tr'onum).  weak  and  often  reclining,  covered  with 
fine,  bristly  hairs.  Leaves  broadly  heart- 


MALVACEAE  (MALLOW  FAMILY)  283 

shaped  in  outline  but  deeply  three-lobed,  the  middle  lobe 
much  the  longest,  the  segments  again  cut  and  toothed. 
Flowers  usually  single  in  the  upper  axils,  about  two  inches 
broad,  pale  sulfur-yellow  with  a  purple  center  and  fine  purple  vein- 
ing,  the  five  broad  petals  often  tinged  with  purple  on  the  outer 
edge;  they  open  only  in  sunshine  and  are  usually  closed  before 
noon ;  calyx  a  thin,  hairy,  five-angled,  membranous,  and  much 
inflated  green  "bladder,"  also  delicately  purple-veined  ;  ovary  five- 
celled,  the  cells  usually  three-seeded,  the  styles  stigmatic  at  the 
summit,  the  column  of  stamens  long,  truncate  at  the  top  and 
bearing  anthers  below  for  much  of  its  length.  Involucral  bracts 
linear,  very  hairy.  Seeds  triangular  kidney-shaped,  brown, 
roughened  with  pimples  of  lighter  shade. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production  by  hand  pulling  or  hoe-cutting  while  in 
first  bloom.  Ground  where  seeds  have  matured  should  be  put  to  a 
well-tilled  hoed  crop. 

OKRA   OR   GUMBO 

Hibiscus  esculentus,  L. 

Introduced.     Annual  or  perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  July  to  September. 

Seed-time :   September  until  cut  off  by  frost. 

Range :  Southeastern  and  Gulf  States.     An  escape  from  cultivation. 

Habitat:   Fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

Okra  was  brought  from  Africa  in  the  old  slave-trading  days. 
It  is  cultivated  in  the  South  for  its  mucilaginous  green  pods,  which 
are  used  for  thickening  soups,  ketchups,  and  stews,  or  cooked  whole 
as  a  table  vegetable ;  also  its  ripe  seeds  are  often  roasted  and  used 
as  a  substitute  for  coffee.  Although  treated  as  an  annual,  the 
plant  will  live  for  years  if  not  killed  by  frost,  and  therefore  it  is 
rather  a  bad  weed  when  out  of  bounds. 

Stem  eighteen  inches  to  three  feet  high,  rather  stout,  with  few 
branches.  Leaves  somewhat  thick  in  texture,  rounded  in  outline 
but  five-  to  seven-lobed,  the  segments  cut  about  halfway  to  the 
base,  coarsely  toothed,  and  with  petioles  about  as  long  as  the  leaves. 


284 


HJPERICACEAE  (ST.   JOHN'S- WORT  FAMILY) 


The  whole  plant  is  softly  hairy.  Flowers  two  inches  or  more  broad, 
cream-yellow,  with  a  purplish  brown  spot  at  the  base  of  each  of  the 
five  petals.  Fully  ripened  pods  are  two  to  four  inches  long,  nearly 
three-quarters  of  an  inch  thick  at  base,  tapering  to  a  point,  and 
ten-ribbed.  The  ribs  soon  become  strongly  fibrous,  and  when  the 
fruit  is  wanted  for  food,  the  pods  must  be  picked  when  about  two 
days  old.  Seeds  dark  brown,  nearly  globular,  with  a  wrhite  eye  on 
one  side ;  they  retain  their  vitality  for  about  five  years. 

Means  of  control 

Small  patches  may  be  hand-pulled  or  grubbed  out.  More 
extensive  areas  require  to  be  put  under  cultivation,  in  order  to 
destroy  the  perennial  roots,  and  stir  dormant  seeds  into  germination. 


Fio.   199  -Common 


COMMON   ST.    JOHN'S-WORT 

Hyperlcum  perforatum,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Herb  of  St.  John, 

Speckled  John. 
Introduced.      Perennial.      Propagates    by 

seeds  and  by  runners  from  the  base  of  the 

stem. 

Time  of  bloom  :  June  to  September. 
Seed-time:   July  to  October. 
Range  :  Throughout  British  America  except 

in  the  far  North,  and  in  all  the  states 

except  the  most  southern. 
Habitat  :  Fields,  pastures,  and  waste  places. 

A  most  pernicious  weed,  difficult  of  sup- 
pression. When  young  its  juices  are  so 
acrid  and  blistering  that  no  grazing  animal 
will  eat  the  plant  ;  and  when  mature  or 
dried  in  hay,  stock  reject  it  because  of  its 
woody  toughness.  (Fig.  199.) 

Stem  ten  to  thirty  inches  tall,  erect, 
slender,  much  branched,  rather  stiff,  bear- 
*  along  the  sides  two  opposing  ridges 


.          - 

St.  John's-wort  (Hyperi-    which    make    it    two-edged.     Leaves    op- 
cum  perforatum).    x  \.       posite,  oblong  to  elliptic,  one-half  inch  to 


HTPERICACEAE  (ST.  JOHN'S- WORT  FAMILY)  285 

an  inch  long,  light  green,  sessile,  -more  or  less  black-dotted  and 
specked  all  over  with  pellucid  dots.  Flowers  in  terminal  cymose 
clusters,  very  showy ;  petals  five,  golden  yellow,  nearly  a  half- 
inch  long,  with  black-dotted  margins;  stamens  many,  separated 
into  three  groups,  their  anthers  black-dotted;  styles  three,  di- 
vergent ;  calyx  of  five  lance-shaped,  acute  sepals,  specked  with 
pellucid  dots.  Capsule  ovoid,  three-celled,  filled  with  small, 
rounded,  oblong  seeds,  their  surface  delicately  pitted  in  rows. 
Too  often  an  impurity  among  grass  seeds. 

Means  of  control 

The  plant  is  best  destroyed  by  hand-pulling  when  the  soil  is 
sufficiently  soft  to  slacken  its  hold  on  the  long,  woody  roots.  Or 
it  may  be  grubbed  out,  care  being  taken  to  leave  no  stray  runners. 
A  meadow  or  a  pasture  too  rankly  infested  to  be  so  cleansed  should 
be  turned  under  and  put  to  a  well-tilled  hoed  crop. 


SHRUBBY   ST.    JOHN'S-WORT 

Hyperlcum  prolificum,  L. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:  New  Jersey  to  Southern  Ontario  and  Minnesota,  south- 
ward to  Georgia  and  Arkansas. 

Habitat:  Dry  soil;  sandy  fields,  rocky  upland  pastures,  waste 
places. 

A  very  beautiful  and  ornamental  plant,  provided  it  might  be 
restricted  to  a  corner  of  a  flower  garden.  Stems  one  to  four  feet 
tall,  strong  and  woody,  branching  near  the  base,  the  branches 
ascending,  the  branchlets  with  side-ridges  making  them  two-edged. 
Leaves  two  to  three  inches  in  length,  pellucid  dotted,  narrowly 
oblong,  obtuse,  tapering  toward  the  base,  the  lower  ones  with 
short  petioles,  those  near  the  top  sessile ;  in  the  axils  are  usually 
tufts  of  smaller  leaves.  Flowers  bright  yellow,  each  nearly  an 
inch  broad,  in  terminal  and  axillary  clusters,  very  numerous; 
sepals  unequal,  shorter  than  the  petals ;  stamens  very  numerous, 


286 


HYPEBICACEAE  (ST.   JOHN'S-WORT  FAMILY) 


not  separated  into  clusters;  styles  three. 
Capsule  long  ovoid  or  conic,  three-celled, 
many-seeded.  (Fig.  200.) 

Means  of  control 

The  smaller  plants  may  be  hand-pulled 
when  the  ground  is  soft,  but  many  of  the 
plants  require  strenuous  work  with  the 
grubbing  hoe.  The  St.  John's-worts  are 
considered  indicative  of  exhausted  soil,  and 
after  their  removal  the  ground  should  be 
put  under  cultivation  and  well  fertilized. 

DWARF   ST.   JOHN'S-WORT 
Hypericum  miitilum,  L. 

Native.    Annual  or  perennial.    Propagates 
by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:  Nova  Scotia  to  Manitoba,  south- 
ward to  Florida  and  Texas. 
Habitat:   Damp  meadows,  pastures,  and  waste  places. 


FIG.  200.  —  Shrubby 
St.  John's-wort  (Hyperi- 
cum prolificum).  X  j. 


Stem  six  to  eighteen  inches  long,  rather  weak  and  flaccid,  de- 
cumbent, branching  from  the  base,  four-angled,  often  reddish. 
Leaves  a  quarter-inch  to  an  inch  long,  narrowly  ovate  to  oblong, 
obtuse,  entire,  partly  clasping,  five-nerved,  minutely  specked  with 
the  pellucid  dots.  Flowers  in  terminal  cymose  clusters,  each  about 
a  quarter-inch  broad,  bright  yellow  or  light  orange,  the  pedicels 
subtended  by  awl-like  bracts.  Capsules  pointed  ovoid,  about  a 
sixth  of  an  inch  long,  filled  with  seed  of  dust-like  smallness.  The 
plants  often  turn  reddish  in  autumn  and  their  presence  is  then 
noted  where  they  had  not  been  suspected. 

Means  of  control 

Cultivate  and  heavily  fertilize  the  ground ;  the  presence  of  this 
plant  is  considered  by  many  farmers  to  be  an  indication  that  the 
soil  lacks  lime.  Follow  the  cultivated  crop  with  clover. 


PASSIFLORACEAE  (PASSION  FLOWER  FAMILY) 


287 


PASSION-FLOWER 
Passiflora  incarnata,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Passion-vine,  May-pop. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   May  to  August. 

Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range:  Virginia  to  Missouri,  southward  to  Florida  and  Texas. 

Habitat :   Dry  soil ;   troublesome  in  cultivated  crops  ;   waste  places. 

A  handsome  climbing  vine,  with  curious  and  beautiful  flowers  and 
edible  fruits.  Stem  smooth,  or  sometimes  finely  hairy  at  the 
growing  tips  and  twigs,  ten  to 
thirty  feet  in  length,  the  lower 
and  older  part  becoming  some- 
what angled  and  ridged,  climbing 
by  means  of  long,  coiling,  axillary 
tendrils.  Leaves  alternate,  three 
to  five  inches  broad,  usually 
smooth,  heart-shaped  at  base 
and  deeply  three-lobed,  the  lobes 
pointed  and  sharply  toothed,  the 
slender  petiole  bearing  two  glands 
near  the  base  of  the  blade. 
Flowers  solitary,  axillary,  about 
two  inches  broad,  showy,  lifted  on 
jointed  pedicels  longer  than  the 
leaf-stalks,  and  bearing  three  leaf- 
like  involucral  bracts  just  below 
the  flower;  sepals  five,  united 
at  base;  five  large  white  petals 
inserted  on  the  throat  of  the 
calyx  and  crowned  with  triple 
rows  of  long  fringes  which  are 
pale  purple  with  a  lighter  band  FlG-  2°l-  ~  Passion-flower  (Passi- 

flora  incarnata).     X  J. 
near  the    center;    the  one-celled 

ovary  is  lifted  on  a  stipe,  or  foot-stalk,  subtended  by  the 
five  stamens  and  bears  at  its  top  three  club-shaped  stigmas. 
Fruit  ovoid,  about  two  inches  long,  smooth,  yellow,  pulpy,  the 


288  CACTACEAE  (CACTUS  FAMILY) 

many    seeds  borne  on  its  inner  wall   surface  in    three  groups. 
(Fig.  201.) 

Mean-s  of  control 

Very  thorough  tillage  of  cultivated  crops,  destroying  as  much 
as  possible  of  the  perennial  roots ;  alternate  such  cultivation  with 
heavy  seeding  to  cowpeas  or  clover. 

PRICKLY   PEAR 

Opuntia  Rafinesquii,  Engelm. 
(Opiintia  humifiisa,  Raf.) 

Other  English  names:   Indian  Fig,  Old  Man's  Hands. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  the  rooting  of 

broken  joints. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 
Seed-time:   July  to  September. 
Range:    Ohio,  Michigan,  and  Minnesota,  southward  to  Kentucky, 

Missouri,  and  Texas. 
Habitat :   Dry  soil ;   rocky  hills  and  pastures. 

In  the  arid  lands  of  the  Southwest,  Prickly  Pear  is  hardly  to  be 
considered  a  weed,  for  there  it  is  singed  of  its  spines  and  furnishes 
an  emergency  food  for  stock  during  the  season  of  drought  when  other 
forage  is  unavailable.  But  cattle  prefer  grasses  to  cactus  and  in 
ground  where  the  better  forage  can  be  made  to  grow  the  cactus 
should  be  suppressed.  If,  under  stress  of  hunger,  the  plant  is 
eaten  by  stock  without  the  removal  of  the  spines,  they  often  pene- 
trate or  lacerate  the  intestines,  or  sometimes  form  interlaced  prickly 
masses  or  phytobezoars  which  close  the  passage  and  cause  death. 
(Fig.  202.) 

This  is  a  variable  species,  but  is  usually  prostrate  and  spread- 
ing, its  roots  often  tuberous,  and  all  joints  are  capable  of  rooting 
at  the  lower  margins,  forming  new  plants.  Joints  usually  about 
two  to  six  inches  long  and  two  to  four  inches  wide,  sometimes 
twice  as  large,  deep  green,  thick,  fleshy,  obovate  to  rounded,  bear- 
ing when  young  a  few  awl-shaped  leaves  that  soon  fall  away ;  in 
the  axil  of  each  leaf  is  a  small  rounded  elevation,  usually  some- 
what woolly,  bearing  a  cluster  of  reddish  brown  bristles  and  a 


CACTACEAE  (CACTUS  FAMILY) 


289 


FIG.  202. —  Prickly 
Pear    (Opuntia    Raphi- 
u).     Xi 


few  spines  or  a  single  strong  one,  sometimes  none.  Flowers  yellow, 
sometimes  with  a  reddish  center,  nearly  three  inches  broad,  the 
many  petals  slightly  united  at  base,  the  stamens  very  numerous, 
the  style  with  two-  to  seven-parted  stigma ;  ovary  inferior  or 
below  the  flower  and  one-celled.  Fruit  a 
thick  club-shape,  nearly  two  inches  long,  not 
spiny,  with  a  fleshy  purplish  pulp,  edible, 
with  an  insipid  or  slightly  acid  taste. 

Means  of  control 

Prickly  Pear  may  be  killed  by  burning,  as 
stockmen  of  the  arid  lands  discovered  when 
removing  the  spines  for  the  benefit  of  their 
cattle,  especially  if  the  work  is  done  with 
a  gasoline  torch  applied  to  the  growing 
plants.  On  land  capable  of  supporting 
better  growths  cultivation  and  liberal  fer- 
tilization of  the  ground  should  be  the 
method  used  for  suppression  of  the  prickly 
pest,  reseeding  heavily  with  some  of  the  most  drought-resistant 
grasses  and  clovers. 

BRITTLE   PRICKLY  PEAR 
Opuntia  frdgilis,  Haw. 

Native.  Perennial.  Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  the  rooting  of 
broken  joints. 

Time  of  bloom:    June  to  August. 

Seed-time:   July  to  September. 

Range :  Minnesota  to  British  Columbia,  southward  to  Utah,  Colo- 
rado, and  Kansas. 

Habitat :   Dry  soil ;   prairies,  rocky  foothills. 

Plants  rather  small,  partly  prostrate,  the  joints  very  numerous 
and  breaking  away  so  readily  that  they  often  attach  themselves  to 
animals  by  their  many  spines  and  are  thus  transported  to  new  lo- 
calities. Joints  small,  only  one  or  two  inches  long,  roundly  ovate 
or  club-like,  slightly  flattened,  the  fruit-bearing  ones  rather  more 
compressed.  Leaves  small,  red,  awl-like,  soon  falling  away;  the 
tiny  protuberances  in  the  axils  white- woolly,  bearing  a  cluster  of 


290 


CACTACEAE  (CACTUS  FAMILY) 


short,  grayish-white  bristles,  becoming  stiff  and  straw-colored  as 
the  plants  grow  old,  with  usually  about  four  stouter,  yellowish- 
brown  spines,  a  half-inch  to  an  inch  long.  Flowers  pale  yellow, 
nearly  two  inches  broad.  Fruit  ovate,  inedible,  prickly,  becoming 
dry  at  maturity.  Seed  rather  large  and  thick,  with  a  corky  margin. 
Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  preceding  species. 


GLOBE   CACTUS 

Mamillaria  vivipara,  Haw. 

Other  English  names:  Ball  Cactus,  Purple  Cactus. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   June  to  July. 

Seed-time:   Early  in  the  following  summer. 

Range :   Manitoba  to  Alberta,  southward  to  Kansas,  Colorado,  and 

Utah. 
Habitat :   Dry  soil ;   prairies,  rocky  hillsides,  pastures. 

When  these  small  spiny  plants  occur  in  pasture  land,  they  are 
most  unpleasant  weeds,  occupying  the  place  of  forage  too  scanty  at 
best.     This  species  usually  grows  in  tufts,  forming 
large    flat    masses.     Stems    two    to    four    inches    in 
diameter,  usually   depressed    globose,  covered    with 
fleshy,  rather  loose,  slightly  grooved,  nearly  cylindri- 
cal green  tubercles,  woolly  at  base,  each  bearing  a 
central  bundle  of  four  to  eight  reddish  brown  spines, 
a  half-inch  or  more  long,  erect  or  somewhat  spread- 
ing, surrounded  by  fifteen  to  twenty  smaller,  radi- 
ating, grayish-white  spines  in  a  single  row.     Flowers 
solitary,  growing  from  small  cavities  at  the  base  of 
the  tubercles,  funnel-shaped,  nearly  two  inches  long 
and  about  as  wide  when  fully  open  (which  is  only 
for    a    few  hours   in  bright  sunlight)   with    fringed 
Ball  or  Globe   sepals  and  narrow,  lance-shaped  petals,  deep  purple ; 
miitarL  ^riri     stamens  verv  numerous  and  style  divided  into  thread- 
para),     x  i-.     ^ke,   stigmatic  branches  ;    ovary  inferior,  one-celled. 
Fruit  a  little    more    than   a   half-inch   long,  ovoid, 
pale  green,  juicy ;  seed  about  a  twelfth  of  an  inch  long,  obovoid, 
slightly  curved,  light  brown,  the  surface  finely  pitted.     (Fig.  203.) 


FIG.  203.— 


LYTHRACEAE  (LOOSESTRIFE  FAMILY)  291 

Means  of  control 

Small  areas  may  be  removed  by  deep  cutting  from  the  roots  with 
a  stout  hoe  or  spud,  before  the  maturing  of  the  fruit.  Turning  the 
sod  with  a  plow  at  once  destroys  the  plants. 

MISSOURI   CACTUS 

Mamillaria  missouriensis,  Sweet 

Other  English  names:  Nipple  Cactus,  Bird's-nest  Cactus. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   May  to  June. 

Seed-time:    The  following  spring. 

Range:   South  Dakota  to  Kansas  and  Texas. 

Habitat :   Dry  soil ;    prairies,  rocky  foothills. 

Like  the  preceding  species,  this  plant  is  a  nuisance  in  pastures. 
It  is  small,  the  stems  often  but  one  or  two  inches  high,  simple  or 
sometimes  clustered  in  patches,  the  tubercles  on  its  surface  less 
than  a  half-inch  long,  slightly  grooved,  rather  loose,  arranged  in 
spiral  rows.  Spines  ten  to  twenty,  nearly  a  half-inch  long,  gray 
and  bristly,  radiating  about  a  central,  stouter,  hairy  spine,  or  the 
latter  may  be  lacking.  Flowers  reddish  yellow,  nearly  an  inch  long 
and  of  about  the  same  width  when  fully  expanded  in  bright  sunlight, 
the  petals  acute  and  bristle-tipped.  Fruit  red,  nearly  globular, 
about  the  size  of  a  pea.  Seed  black  and  finely  pitted. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Globe  Cactus. 

CLAMMY   CUPHEA 

Ciiphea  petiolata,  Koehne 
(Parsonia  petiolata,  Rusby) 

Other  English  names :  Clammy  Loosestrife,  Blue  Waxweed,  Tarweed, 

Red-stem,  Sticky-stem. 
Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  July  to  October. 
Seed-time:   August  to  November. 
Range:   Rhode  Island  to  Ontario,  Illinois,  and  Kansas,  southward 

to  Georgia  and  Louisiana.     Most  common  in  the  South. 
Habitat:  Dry  fields,  meadows,  pastures,  roadsides,  and  waste  land. 

An  unpleasant,  viscidly  hairy,  and  homely  weed,  much  too  com- 
mon in  some  localities.  Cattle  will  not  eat  it  and  its  deep-boring 


292  ONAGRACEAE  (EVENING  PRIMROSE  FAMILY) 

roots  absorb  a  large  amount  of  the  food  and  moisture  needed  by 
better  plants. 

Stem  six  to  eighteen  inches  in  height,  round,  red,  branching, 
thickly  set  with  sticky  hairs  to  which  small  dead  or  dying  insects 
are  often  seen  adhering.  Leaves  opposite,  long  ovate,  rough,  entire, 
viscid,  especially  on  midribs  and  veins,  and  tapering  abruptly  to 
short  sticky-hairy  petioles.  Flowers  on  very  short  peduncles, 
not  rising  directly  from  the  axils  but  from  the  side  of  the  stem 
between  the  opposite  leaf -stalks ;  they  are  less  than  a  half-inch 
broad,  bluish  purple,  with  six  very  unequal  petals,  a  tubular  six- 
toothed,  twelve-ribbed  calyx,  swollen  at  base  on  the  upper  side, 
and  often  ruddy-colored  like  the  stem ;  stamens  eleven  or  some- 
times twelve;  style  slender  with  two-lobed  stigma;  ovary  un- 
equally two-celled,  with  a  curved  gland  at  its  base.  The  capsule 
bursts  lengthwise  and  the  seeds  protrude  from  its  side  while  still 
immature  and  attached  to  one  side  of  the  placenta;  they  ripen 
while  exposed  to  the  open  air  and  then  drop  off  into  the  soil,  where 
they  are  said  to  retain  their  vitality  for  several  years. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  development  by  closely  cutting  or  uprooting  the 
plants  while  in  their  first  bloom. 

SEED-BOX 
Ludvigia  alternifdlia,  L. 

Other  English  name:   Rattle-box. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range:    New  Hampshire  to  Ontario  and  Michigan,  southward  to 

Florida,  Kansas,  and  Texas. 
Habitat:   Swamps,  low  meadows,  banks  of  streams,  and  ditches. 

Roots  fascicled,  spindle-shaped,  rather  thick  and  fleshy.  Stems 
two  to  three  feet  tall,  erect,  round,  smooth,  with  a  strong  bark  and 
many  branches.  Leaves  alternate,  entire,  with  marginal  veins, 
smooth  or  nearly  so,  pointed  at  both  ends,  two  to  four  inches  in 
length,  sessile  or  with  very  short  petioles.  Flowers  solitary  in 


ONAGRACEAE  (EVENING  PRIMROSE  FAMILY) 


293 


the  axils  on  very  short  peduncles;  they  are 
nearly  an  inch  broad,  with  four  light  yellow, 
rounded  petals,  between  wilich  show  the 
four-pointed,  spreading,  leaf -like  lobes  of  the 
calyx,  about  as  long.  When  plucked,  the 
petals  almost  always  fall  away  ;  stamens  four, 
inserted  with  the  petals ;  ovary  four-celled. 
Capsules  smooth,  square,  with  winged  angles 
and  rounded  base,  about  a  quarter-inch 
high ;  the  seeds  become  loose  and  rattle  about 
in  them  when  the  plant  is  shaken.  These 
seed-vessels  readily  float  on  water  and  are 
often  blown  far  on  crusted  snow.  (Fig.  204.) 

Means  of  control 

Drainage  of  the  ground,  followed  by  a 
cultivated  crop,  very  thoroughly  tilled.  Or 
starvation  of  the  perennial  roots  by  close 
and  frequent  cutting  throughout  the  growing 


FIG.    204.  —  Seed- 
WATER   PURSLANE  box  (Ludvigia  alterni- 

folia).     Xi. 

Ludvigia  palustris,  Ell. 
(Isndrdia  palustris,  L.) 

Other   English   names:     Ditch   Purslane,    Marsh   Purslane,    False 

Loosestrife. 
Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rooting  at 

the  joints. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  October. 
Seed-time:  July  to  November. 
Range:    Nova   Scotia   to   Manitoba   and   Oregon,   southward   to 

Florida,  Louisiana,  California,  and  Mexico. 
Habitat :  Swamps,  wet  meadows  ;   clogs  ditches. 

A  small,  prostrate,  often  floating  weed,  whose  habit  of  putting 
forth  fibrous  roots  at  its  joints  makes  it  frequently  a  pest  to  the 
muck  farmer. 

Stems  smooth,  succulent,  much  branched  at  the  base,  often 
ruddy-colored,  four  to  fifteen  inches  long.  Leaves  opposite,  ovate 
or  spatulate,  a  half-inch  to  an  inch  long,  narrowing  to  a  short, 


294  ONAGRACEAE  (EVENING  PRIMROSE  FAMILY) 

slim  petiole;  when  growing  in  mucky  ground,  they  are  smaller, 
nearly  sessile,  blunt-pointed,  and  reddish.  Flowers  axillary,  sessile, 
solitary,  scarcely  a  tenth  of  an  inch  broad ;  they  have  a  top-shaped 
calyx  with  four  pointed  triangular  lobes,  and  sometimes  four  small 
reddish  petals,  though  these  are  often  wanting,  particularly  in 
floating  plants ;  stamens  four  and  stigma  four-parted ;  ovary 
four-celled.  Capsule  four-sided  and  four-celled,  flat  at  the  top, 
containing  many  very  fine,  wrinkled,  brown  seeds. 

Means  of  control 

Only  by  digging  or  hand-pulling  can  this  obnoxious  little  plant 
be  removed,  and  the  work  needs  to  be  done  early,  before  the  first 
development  of  seed. 

GREAT  WILLOW-HERB 

Epildbium  angustifdlium,  L. 
(Chamcenerion  angustifolium,  Scop.) 

Other    English    names:     Fireweed,     Spiked 

Willow-herb. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:  July  to  August. 
Seed-time:   August  to  September. 
Range:    Labrador  to  Alaska,  southward  to 

North  Carolina  and  Kansas,  in  the  Rocky 

Mountains  to  Arizona,  and  on  the  Pacific 

Coast  to  California. 
Habitat :    Low  grounds  and  thickets ;    land 

that  has  been  newly  cleared  or  burnt  over. 

Stem  two  to  six  or  more  feet  in  height, 
somewhat  woody,  rather  stout,  erect,  simple 
or  branched  from  the  base,  usually  reddish, 
smooth  or  sometimes  finely  hairy  above. 
Leaves  alternate,  narrow  lance-shaped,  thin, 
entire  or  minutely  toothed,  pale  beneath, 
with  very  short  petioles  and  pinnate  veins 
united  in  marginal  loops.  Flowers  in  large 
terminal  racemes,  purple,  magenta,  pink,  or 
sometimes  white,  very  showy;  petals  four, 
rounded  and  entire,  with  twice  as  many  sta- 
angustifolium).  x  ?.  mens  and  an  elongated  pink  style  with  four- 


ONAGRACEAE  (EVENING  PRIMROSE  FAMILY)  295 

parted  white  stigma ;  ovary  below  the  calyx- tube  and  four-celled. 
The  plant  is  good  bee  pasture,  generous  of  both  pollen  and  nectar. 
Capsules  two  inches  or  more  long,  obscurely  four-sided,  reddish 
brown,  velvety-hairy  when  young,  many-seeded,  opening  at  the 
summit.  Seeds  small  and  brown,  tufted  with  white  hair  finer 
than  thistle-down,  by  which  they  are  widely  wind-sown.  (Fig.  205.) 

Means  of  control 

Close  cutting  or  hand-pulling  before  the  development  of  seeds ; 
destruction  of  the  perennial  roots  by  cultivation  of  the  ground. 

COMMON  EVENING   PRIMROSE 

(Enothera  biennis,  L. 
(finagra  biennis,  Scop.) 

Other  English  names:   Field  Primrose,  Tree  Primrose,  Fever  Plant, 

Night  Willow-herb. 

Native.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:  June  to  September. 
Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range:   Labrador  to  Florida,  westward  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
Habitat:   Dry  soil;   fields,  meadows,  roadsides,  waste  places. 

The  long,  stout  taproot  of  this  plant  is  used  in  Germany  as  a 
table  vegetable,  like  parsnips,  and  its  young  crown  leaves  are 
blanched  and  used  for  salad.  It  is  also  medicinally  valuable. 
Collectors  receive  about  five  cents  a  pound  for  the  plants  pulled 
entire  in  mid-flowering  time  and  dried  in  the  shade. 

Stem  two  to  six  or  more  feet  tall,  rather  siqut,  usually  simple, 
more  or  less  hairy.  Root  leaves  lance-shaped,  three  to  six  inches 
long,  the  surface  dark  green,  rough-hairy,  slightly  toothed,  tapering 
to  a  petiole;  stem  leaves  much  smaller,  alternate  and  sessile. 
Flowers  in  terminal  leafy-bracted  spikes,  sessile,  the  calyx-tube 
sometimes  two  inches  long,  its  four  lobes  reflexed  and  falling 
away;  stamens  eight,  inserted  on  the  top  of  the  calyx-tube; 
style  with  deeply  four-cleft  stigma ;  ovary  below  the  long  calyx- 
tube,  itself  much  elongated  and  four-celled ;  the  four  broad,  sulfur- 
yellow  petals  are  rolled  in  the  bud,  and  at  the  falling  of  twilight 
their  unfolding  is  so  swiftly  accomplished  that  one  may  "  see  her 


296 


ONAGRACEAE  (EVENING  PRIMROSE  FAMILY) 


doff  her  soft  green  hood  and  blossom  — 
with  a  silken  burst  of  sound."  Sweet 
odors  pour  from  the  pale  yellow  cups  and 
attract  the  night-flying  moths,  which  fer- 
tilize the  flowers,  and  in  the  morning 
sunlight  the  blossoms  droop  and  wither. 
Capsules  an  inch  or  more  long,  four-celled, 
slightly  hairy,  splitting  at  the  top  into  a 
slender,  vase-like  shape ;  they  sway  on 
the  tall  stalks  all  winter  and  birds  de- 
stroy many  of  the  seeds  in  their  foraging. 
(Fig.  206.) 

Means  of  control 

Cutting  crown  leaves  from  the  roots 
with  spud  or  hoe  in  the  first  season ;  close 
cutting  of  flowering  stalks  while  in  early 
bloom;  plants  with  capsules  formed 

FIG.  206.  — Evening    should  be  cut  and  burned,  as  they  ripen 
Primrose    (CEnothera    bien-  ,-,        ,    » 

»M).    xi.  on  the  stalks. 


SUNDROPS 

(Enothbra  fruticdsa,  L. 
(Knelffia  fruticdsa,  Raimann) 

Other  English  names:   Day  Primrose,  Perennial  Primrose. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagated  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 

Seed-lime:   August  to  October. 

Range:    Nova   Scotia  to  Minnesota,   southward  to   Georgia  and 

Louisiana. 
Habitat :   Dry  soil ;   fields,  meadows,  and  waste  places. 

Stems  rather  slender,  one  to  three  feet  tall,  usually  branched, 
finely  hairy  or  sometimes  smooth.  Leaves  alternate,  oblong  to 
lance-shaped,  with  few  and  shallow  teeth,  somewhat  hairy,  the 
lower  ones  with  petioles,  those  on  the  stem  sessile,  the  upper  ones 
nearly  linear.  Flowers  in  terminal,  leafy-bracted  spikes,  the  blos- 
soms sometimes  nearly  two  inches  broad,  the  petals  notched  at  the 


ONAGRACEAE  (EVENING  PRIMROSE  FAMILY)  297 

outer  edge,  lustrous  golden  yellow,  open  in  the  daytime ;  tube  of 
the  calyx  much  longer  than  the  ovary,  its  lobes  narrowly  lance- 
shaped  and  spreading.  Capsules  about  a  half-inch  long,  four- 
angled,  and  having  four  small  wings  projecting  from  the  top,  the 
base  often  narrowed  abruptly  to  a  short  foot-stalk. 

Means  of  control 

Starvation  of  the  perennial  roots  by  frequent,  successive,  close 
cuttings.  In  cultivated  ground  the  plants  are  destroyed  by  the 
required  tillage. 

BIENNIAL   GAURA 
Gaiira  biennis,  L. 

Native.    Biennial.    Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:  Quebec  and  Ontario  to  Minne- 
sota, southward  to  Georgia,  Missis- 
sippi, Arkansas,  and  Nebraska. 

Habitat :  Fields,  meadows,  pastures,  road- 
sides, and  waste  lands. 

The  winter  rosettes  and  deep-boring 
taproot  of  this  plant  resemble  those  of 
the  Evening  Primrose,  to  which  it  is  a 
near  relative.  Flowering-stalks,  which 
appear  in  the  second  year,  are  two  to 
five  feet  tall,  erect,  much  branched, 
and  covered  with  finely  downy  hairs, 
hard  and  woody  when  mature,  and  very 
troublesome  to  harvesting  machinery. 
Leaves  alternate,  lance-shaped,  pointed 
at  both  ends,  sparsely  toothed  or  wavy- 
edged,  smooth  above  but  finely  hairy 
beneath,  sessile,  two  to  four  inches  long. 
Flowers  sessile  on  slender  terminal  spikes, 
the  succession  of  bloom  beginning  at  the 
base  of  the  spike  with  hairy  buds  above ; 
each  blossom  is  nearly  a  half-inch  across,  pio.  207.  —  Biennial  Gaura 
with  four  cream-white  petals,  turning  (Gdum  biennis). 


298  ONAGRACEAE  (EVENING  PRIMROSE  FAMILY) 

pink  as  they  wither,  four  long-pointed,  reflexed  calyx-lobes, 
usually  eight  stamens,  drooping  like  a  tassel,  and  a  long,  declin- 
ing style  with  four-parted  stigma;  ovary  at  the  base  of  the 
long  calyx-tube,  one-celled.  Fruits  nut-like,  four-ribbed,  pointed 
at  both  ends,  finely  downy,  and  nearly  a  half-inch  long.  (Fig. 
207.) 

Means  of  control 

Leaf-tufts  of  autumn  plants  should  be  spudded  off  or  destroyed 
by  deep  hoe-cutting.  Plants  that  have  survived  to  the  second 
season  should  have  flowering-stalks  closely  cut  in  their  first  bloom, 
the  shorn  surfaces  being  treated  with  salt  in  order  to  prevent  stool- 
ing.  If  not  allowed  to  mature  seed  the  weed  is  readily  suppressed. 


WOOLLY   GAURA 
Gaura  vittdsa,  Torr. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range:   Prairies,  Kansas  to  Arkansas  and  Texas. 

Habitat:   Cultivated  crops,  grain  fields,  meadows,  pastures. 

A  sturdy  weed,  with  a  stout,  woody,  branching  stem,  one  to  three 
feet  tall,  very  objectionable  in  pasture  or  meadow,  for  cattle  reject 
the  plant  either  as  green  forage  or  as  hay  and  it  dulls  and  breaks 
the  mowing-machine  knives.  The  whole  plant  is  covered  with 
soft,  fuzzy,  grayish  hairs.  Leaves  alternate  and  sessile,  but  vary 
in  shape  from  lanceolate  to  sometimes  nearly  linear  at  the  upper 
part  of  the  plant,  to  wavy-toothed  or  even  pinnatifid  ones  near  the 
base.  Flowers  white  or  pinkish,  nearly  an  inch  across,  the  calyx 
very  hairy,  its  tube  funnel-shaped  above  the  ovary,  with  linear, 
reflexed  lobes ;  the  stamens  are  shorter  than  the  petals,  but  the 
style  is  long,  with  four-parted  stigma.  The  nut-like  fruit  is  spar- 
ingly hairy  or  sometimes  smooth,  four-ribbed,  tapering  to  both 
base  and  apex  but  narrowing  most  abruptly  to  the  short,  slender 
pedicel. 


UMBELLIFERAE  (PARSLEY  FAMILY) 


299 


Means  of  control 

Prevent  reproduction  and  spreading  by  cutting  the  flowering 
stalks  before  any  fruit  has  matured.  In  order  to  destroy  the  peren- 
nial roots  it  is  necessary  to  put  the  land  under  cultivation. 


SANICLE   OR    BLACK   SNAKEROOT 

Sanicula  canadensis,  L. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 

Seed-time:    August  to  October. 

Range:    Massachusetts  to   Nebraska,   southward  to   Florida  and 

Texas. 
Habitat :   Shrubby  upland  pastures,  thickets,  open  woods. 


Sanicle  is  a  shade  lover  and  would 
hardly  be  included  in  this  weed  list 
were  it  not  that  its  hooked  and  prickly 
carpels  are  so  detrimental  to  the  fleeces 
of  sheep.  The  plant  has  bitter  juices 
which  protect  it  from  their  nibbling 
jaws  and  it  is  left  to  reproduce  itself 
unharmed. 

Stem  rather  stout,  eighteen  inches 
to  three  feet  tall,  erect,  round,  grooved, 
smooth,  with  forking,  leafy  branches. 
Leaves  palmately  compound,  three-  to 
five-parted,  the  segments  narrowly  obo- 
vate  to  lance-shaped,  smooth,  sharply 
and  irregularly  toothed,  often  cut- 
lobed ;  those  at  the  base  have  long 
petioles  but  the  stem  leaves  become 
smaller  and  nearly  sessile  as  they  near 
the  top;  involucral  leaves  small  and 
lance-shaped.  Flowers  greenish  white, 
with  perfect  and  staminate  flowers  in- 
termixed in  small,  compact,  globular 
umbels,  not  much  more  than  a  half-  FIG 
inch  broad.  In  this  species  the  styles 


3.  —  Sanicle  (Sanicula 
canadensis).     X 


300  UMBELLIFERAE  (PARSLEY  FAMILY) 

are  shorter  than  the  bristles  on  the  carpels.  These  are  in  pairs, 
forming  tiny,  ovoid  burs,  bristling  with  prickly  hooks,  there  being 
several  of  the  burs  in  a  cluster,  ready  at  a  touch  from  woolen 
garments  or  a  sheep's  fleece  to  "catch  on  for  a  ride."  (Fig.  208.) 

S.  marilandica,  differing  in  that  the  styles  are  much  longer 
than  the  bristles  and  recurved,  is  equally  common  and  has  a  more 
extensive  range  from  Newfoundland  to  Georgia  and  westward  to 
the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  the  formation  of  seed  by  close  cutting  or  pulling  when 
in  first  bloom. 

POISON  HEMLOCK 

Conlum  maculatum,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Deadly  Hemlock,  Spotted  Cowbane,  Spotted 
Parsley,  Poison  Stinkweed,  Wode  Whistle,  Herb  of  St.  Bennet. 

Introduced.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  July. 

Seed-time:   August  to  September. 

Range:  New  England  and  Middle  Atlantic  States,  westward  to 
Michigan  and  Indiana,  southward  to  Virginia.  Also  in  Cali- 
fornia and  Louisiana. 

Habitat :   Moist  soil ;   waste  places. 

All  parts  of  this  plant  are  exceedingly  poisonous.  Every  year 
domestic  animals  are  killed  by  eating  its  young  leaves  in  the  spring, 
children  have  died  from  mistaking  its  seeds  for  fennel  or  caraway, 
and  the  close  resemblance  of  its  leaves  to  those  of  parsley  some- 
times is  the  cause  of  fatal  poisoning.  This  is  said  to  be  the  herb 
which  furnished  the  "Cup  of  death"  given  to  Socrates  in  Ancient 
Athens.  The  plant  is  used  in  medicine  for  diseases  of  the  nervous 
system,  and  to  supply  the  demands  of  the  drug  trade  about  thirty 
thousand  pounds  of  its  seeds  and  fifteen  to  twenty  thousand  pounds 
of  its  dried  leaves  are  annually  imported,  at  a  cost  of  about  three 
cents  a  pound  for  the  seeds  and  four  cents  for  the  leaves.  Probably 
the  home-grown  product  would  be  as  readily  purchased  if  properly 
cured.  (Fig.  209.) 

According  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  the  height  of  the  plant  varies 
from  two  to  five  feet.  Stem  smooth,  erect,  much  branched,  hollow, 


UMBELLIFERAE  (PARSLEY  FAMILY) 


301 


often  purple-spotted.  Leaves 
pinnate  and  thrice  divided,  the 
segments  finely  cut  and  toothed. 
Flower  clusters  terminal,  in 
large,  open,  compound  umbels, 
composed  of  many  small  um- 
bellets  of  tiny  white  flowers, 
five-petaled,  the  large  umbel 
and  its  parts  subtended  by 
small,  narrow  bracts.  Fruit 
consisting  of  two  dry,  seed- 
like  carpels,  cohering  by  their 
inner  face,  grayish  brown  when 
ripe,  about  one-eighth  of  an 
inch  long,  ovoid,  flattened  at 
the  side,  prominently  ribbed, 
and  having  on  the  flattened 
surface  a  deep,  narrow  groove. 
The  whole  plant  has  a  very 
disagreeable  "mousy"  odor, 
especially  when  bruised. 


FIG.  209.  —  Poison  Hemlock  (Conium 
maculatum).     X  J. 


Means  of  control 

Grub  it  out,  "root  and  branch,"  and  destroy  it.  So  dangerous 
a  neighbor  should  never  be  allowed  on  any  farm  land,  and  in  par- 
ticular the  roads  of  the  countryside  should  be  free  from  its  presence. 


WATER  HEMLOCK 

Ciciita  maculdta,  L. 

Other  English  names :  Spotted  Cowbane,  Beaver  Poison,  Musquash 
Root,  Muskrat  Weed,  Death-of-man,  Children's  Bane. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  August. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range :  Newfoundland  to  Manitoba,  southward  to  Florida  and  New 
Mexico. 

Habitat :  Low  grounds ;  wet  meadows,  marshy  places,  sides  of 
ditches,  and  ponds. 


302 


UMBELLIFERAE  (PARSLEY  FAMILY) 


Quite  as  poisonous  as  the  preceding  plant  and  probably  the 
cause  of  more  fatalities.  Roots  two  to  four  inches  long,  thick, 
fleshy,  tuberous,  bunched  in  a  cluster  (fasciculated)  at  the  swollen 
base  of  the  stem.  These  are  especially  dangerous,  for  their  taste 
is  pleasantly  aromatic,  somewhat  like  that  of  its  harmless  relative, 
Sweet  Cicely,  for  which  they  are  sometimes  mistaken,  generally 
with  fatal  results ;  or  they  may  be  mistaken  for  artichokes  or 

parsnips  in  the  early  spring. 
At  this  season  the  roots  are  fre- 
quently forced  out  of  the  earth 
by  washing  or  freezing,  or  cattle 
and  sheep,  biting  at  the  young 
shoots,  pull  them  easily  from 
the  wet  soil.  One  of  the  fasci- 
cled roots  will  kill  a  cow,  and  a 
much  smaller  portion,  when 
eaten  by  a  person,  is  sufficient 
to  bring  a  swift  and  distressful 
death,  unless  medical  aid  is  im- 
mediately at  hand.  (Fig.  210.) 
Stems  stout,  smooth,  hollow, 
two  to  six  feet  tall,  streaked 
with  brown  and  purple,  the 
color  more  pronounced  at  the 
junction  of  stem  and  branches. 
Leaves  pinnately  twice  or  thrice 
(Cicuta  divided,  the  segments  lance- 
shaped,  thin,  sharply  and  rather 
coarsely  toothed,  the  veins  terminating  in  the  notches  instead  of  at 
the  points.  Umbels  open  and  spreading,  without  involucres,  the  ped- 
icels in  the  umbellets  unequal  in  length,  giving  the  clusters  an 
uneven  appearance ;  like  all  the  Parsley  Family,  the  flowers  are 
very  small,  five-petaled  with  five  stamens  inserted  on  the  disk 
that  crowns  the  two-celled  and  two-seeded  ovary.  In  this  species 
the  petals  are  white.  Carpels  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  long, 
ovoid,  smooth,  each  one  striped  on  the  convex  side  with  five 
corky  ribs  and  four  brown  oil-tubes  and  on  the  flat  side  with  two 
wide  corky  stripes  and  two  oil-tubes. 


FIG.   210.  —  Water    Hemlock 
maculata).     X  *. 


UMBELLIFERAE  (PARSLEY  FAMILY)  303 

Means  of  control 

Grub  out  and  destroy  the  plants,  allowing  no  seeds  to  ripen  and 
fall  into  the  soil  to  perpetuate  so  deadly  a  menace  to  the  safety  of 
the  children  and  the  domestic  animals  of  the  neighborhood.  Or 
the  plant  is  easily  pulled,  roots  and  all,  in  the  spring  when  the 
ground  is  soft  and  the  young  shoots  first  appear. 


FOOL'S  PARSLEY 

&thiisa  Cynapium,  L. 

Other  English  names:    False  Parsley,  Dog's  Parsley,  Dog  Poison, 
Fool's  Cicely. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  August. 

Seed-time:  August  to  October. 

Range:   Nova  Scotia  to  Virginia,  west- 
ward to  the  Mississippi  River. 

Habitat:    Fields  and  waste  places. 

Fool's  Parsley  is  acridly  poisonous ; 
its  Greek  name  means  "to  burn,"  which 
indicates  the  sort  of  agony  that  its 
victims  feel. 

Root  spindle-shaped  like  a  radish, 
three  to  six  inches  long.  Stem  one  to 
two  feet  tall,  slender,  smooth,  branching 
by  forking.  Leaves  very  dark  green, 
smooth,  shining,  twice  or  thrice  ternately 
divided,  the  segments  again  finely  cleft ; 
they  look  very  like  those  of  the  true 
Parsley,  but,  when  crushed,  have  a  dis- 
agreeable, fetid  odor;  the  upper  ones 
are  nearly  sessile,  the  short  petioles 
much  dilated  at  the  base.  Flowers 
white,  unpleasantly  scented,  the  large 
umbel  without  an  involucre,  but  the 
umbellets  having  involucels  of  long, 
narrow,  downward-turned  bracts.  The  FIG.  211.  — Fool's  Parsley 
flowers  of  true  parsley  are  yellow.  (^Ethusa  Cynapium).  xj. 


304 


UMBELLIFERAE  (PARSLEY  FAMILY) 


United  carpels  ovoid,  nearly  as  broad  as  long,  each  of  the  two 
having  five  sharply  keeled  ridges.  These  seeds  may  remain 
dormant  in  the  soil  for  several  years  and  should  never  be 
permitted  to  sow  themselves.  (Fig.  211.) 

Means  of  control 

If  the  infestation  is  new,  hand-pull  as  soon  as  discovered  and 
destroy  it.  Being  annual,  it  is  necessary  only  to  prevent  seed 
development  in  order  to  suppress  the  weed. 


MEADOW  PARSNIP 

Thdspium  aureum,  Nutt. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   June  to  July. 

Seed-time:   August  to  September. 

Range:   New  York  to  the  Carolinas,  westward 

to  Arkansas  and  Nebraska. 
Habitat:    Moist  meadows,  waste  places,  open 
woodlands. 


When  it  first  appears  in  the  spring,  the 
young  shoots  of  this  plant  sometimes  give  an 
unpleasant  flavor  to  dairy  products;  later  the 
cattle  reject  it,  though  it  seems  to  be  not  so 
noxious  as  other  members  of  its  tribe. 

Stems  smooth,  one  to  two  feet  high,  with 
few  branches.  Base  leaves  heart-shaped, 
smooth,  sharply  toothed,  long-petioled ;  those 
of  the  stem  three-parted  —  sometimes  twice 
ternate  —  the  lateral  leaflets  sessile  or  nearly 
so,  the  terminal  one  stalked,  long  ovate  to 
lance-shaped,  finely  toothed.  Flowers  deep 
golden  yellow,  the  compound  umbel  about  two 
inches  broad.  Carpels  small,  ovoid  or  nearly 
globose,  smooth,  the  ribs  standing  out  like 
wings.  (Fig.  212.) 

Ranging  nearly  with  this  plant  is  a  close 
relative,  the  HAIRY-JOINTED  MEADOW  PARSNIP 


FIG.  21 2.— Mead- 
ow" Parsnip    (Thas- 
lureum).    X  i- 


UMBELLIFERAE  (PARSLEY  FAMILY)  305 

(Thdspium  barbinode),  also  yellow-flowered,  but  larger,  its  ternately 
compound  leaves  broader  and  more  coarsely  toothed,  and 
having  tiny  tufts  of  fine  hair  at  each  joint. 

Means  of  control 

Frequent  close  cutting  before  seed  development,  using  dry  salt 
in  order  to  retard  new  growth. 


WILD    PARSNIP 
Pastinaca  satwa,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Field  Parsnip,  Madnep,  Tank. 

Introduced.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   June  to  August. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:   All  parts  of  the  United  States  and  Canada. 

Habitat:   Roadsides  and  waste  places. 

" Pastm"  means  food,  and,  as  its  name  indicates,  this  is  the 
garden  Parsnip,  long  ago  "  gone  to  the  bad,"  for  its  thick,  white, 
fleshy  root  is  no  longer  a  food  but  a  poison,  even  after  it  has  been 
cooked  —  a  fact  which  is  every  year  demonstrated  by  several 
deaths. 

Crown  leaves  of  the  first  year  large,  often  eighteen  inches  in 
length,  with  long,  flattened,  and  grooved  petioles :  pinnate,  the 
segments  thin,  sessile,  ovate,  coarsely  and  sharply  toothed,  often 
cut-lobed.  Fruiting  stem  two  to  four  feet  tall,  hollow,  grooved, 
smooth,  its  leaves  much  smaller  and  clasping.  Umbel  compound, 
without  involucre  or  involucels,  the  flowers  very  many,  small,  and 
yellow.  Carpels  nearly  one  fourth  of  an  inch  long,  broadly  oval, 
much  flattened,  surrounded  by  a  thin,  corky  ridge  which  helps 
them  to  float  on  water  or  to  be  carried  by  the  wind.  This  weed, 
like  the  Wild  Carrot,  serves  as  host  to  the  fungus  which  is  so  inju- 
rious to  celery,  and  will  infect  that  plant  when  it  grows  near  it. 

Means  of  control 

Hand-pulling  when  the  ground  is  soft  in  spring.  Spudding  or 
hoercutting  the  root  leaves  from  their  crowns,  an  operation  best 


306 


UMBELLIFERAE  (PARSLEY  FAMILY) 


performed  in  late  autumn  or  early  spring.     Plants  that  survive  to 
send  up  flowering  stalks  should  be  cut  while  in  bloom. 


COW  PARSNIP 

Heracleum  landtum,  Michx. 

Other  English  names:   Woolly  Parsnip,  Masterwort. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   June  to  July. 
Seed-time:   August  to  September. 

Range:    Labrador  to  Alaska,  southward  to  North  Carolina,  Mis- 
souri, Utah,  and  California. 
Habitat :   Moist  ground ;   waste  places,  sides  of  ponds,  ditches,  and 


One  of  the  largest  of 
umbellifers,  well  named 
for  Hercules,  the  giant. 
The  huge,  fleshy  root 
sends  up  a  stalk  four  to 
eight  feet  tall,  sometimes 
two  inches  thick  at  base, 
deeply  ridged  and  grooved, 
and  wrapped  in  matted 
white  hair.  Leaves  large, 
ternately  compound,  the 
segments  broadly  ovate, 
sharply  toothed,  and  cut- 
lobed,  stalked,  somewhat 
thin  for  their  size,  densely 
covered  on  the  under  side 
with  a  network  of  white, 
woolly  hair;  petioles  stout, 
much  inflated,  and  clasp- 
ing at  base.  The  whole 
plant  has  a  disagreeable 
odor,  especially  when 
bruised,  and  the  juice  is 
extremely  acrid;  that  of 
FIG.  213.  —  Cow  Parsnip  (Heracleum  lana-  the  root,  when  applied  to 
turn),  x  J.  the  skin,  will  quickly  draw 


UMBELLIFERAE  (PARSLEY  FAMILY)  307 

blisters.  Flowers  white,  occasionally  purplish,  the  flattened  com- 
pound umbel  sometimes  a  foot  broad ;  individual  flowers  often  more 
than  a  quarter-inch  broad,  particularly  the  enlarged  outer  ones,  with 
the  five  petals  notched  at  the  outer  edge;  involucre  deciduous. 
Carpels  obovate,  nearly  a  half-inch  long,  flattened,  with  winged 
margin  and  notched  apex,  the  oil-tubes  extending  only  part  way 
down  the  sides.  The  weed  is  dangerous  to  cattle,  when  growing 
about  their  drinking  places,  at  the  time  of  starting  shoots  in  spring ; 
later  they  avoid  it.  (Fig.  213.) 

Means  of  control 

The  plant  is  persistent  because  of  its  large  root,  which  needs  to 
be  grubbed  out  or  deeply  cut  and  treated  with  dry  salt  or  kerosene. 

WILD   CARROT 
Daucus  Carota,  L. 

Other   English   names:     Queen  -Anne's   Lace,    Bird's   Nest   Weed, 

Devil's  Plague. 

Introduced.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   June  to  September. 
Seed-time:   August  to  December. 

Range:    Throughout  North  America  except  the  far  North. 
Habitat :  All  soils ;  meadows,  pastures,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

This  plant  is  said  to  be  the  progenitor  of  the  cultivated  carrot, 
but  its  long,  tapering  root  has  none  of  the  succulent  sweetness 
which  careful  selection  and  cultivation  has  given  to  its  descend- 
ants ;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  filled  with  woody  fibers,  acrid  to  taste 
and  said  to  be  poisonous.  Only  a  crown  of  green  leaves  is  pro- 
duced the  first  season;  these  are  twice  or  thrice  pinnate,  the 
segments  lance-shaped  and  toothed,  giving  the  plant  a  fine,  feathery 
appearance;  petioles  long,  slender,  swollen  at  base,  grooved  on 
the  upper  side;  the  leaves  are  rough-hairy,  have  an  unpleasant 
odor  when  bruised,  and  their  acrid  juices  protect  them  from  grazing 
animals.  Flower-stalks  appear  the  second  year,  one  to  three  feet 
tall,  erect,  slender,  branching,  bristly  with  stiff  hairs,  bearing  few, 
sessile,  and  clasping  leaves;  flowers  clustered,  in  large,  flat,  com- 
pound umbels,  white,  except  that  there  is  usually  one  in  the  center 


308 


ERICACEAE  (HEATH  FAMILY) 


of  each  umbel  which  is  dark  purple ;  rays  of  the  umbel  crowded, 
the  inner  ones  shorter  than  the  outer  rows,  all  subtended  by  a  whorl 
of  green,  finely  cut,  involucral  bracts.  As  the 
fruits  mature  the  outer  rows  of  pedicels  bend 
inward,  making  the  umbel  concave  and  forming 
the  "bird's  nest."  Carpels  thickly  set  with 
weak  spines  along  the  secondary  ribs,  forming 
a  small,  oblong,  gray-brown  bur  which  is  light 
in  weight  and  may  be  carried  far  by  the  wind 
or  drifted  with  snow;  these  seeds  have  long 
vitality  and  one  seeding  may  pester  the  soil  for 
several  years.  The  plant  is  frequently  infested 
by  the  leaf-spot  fungus,  Cercospora  apii,  which 
is  very  injurious  to  Celery.  (Fig.  214.) 

Means  of  control 

Hoe-cutting  or  spudding  the  leaf -crowns  from 
the  roots  during  the  first  season,  and  closely 
cutting,  or,  better,  hand-pulling,  the  flowering 
stalks  of  the  second  year.  In  grain  fields 
the  latter  method  is  the  only  way  to  fight  the 
weed  effectively,  for  it  is  resistant  to  sprays  that 
would  not  also  destroy  the  accompanying  crop. 
FIG.  214.  — Wild  in  cultivated  ground  the  plant  gives  little 

ro^T  xT""  "  trouble,  for  there  it  may  be  uprooted  with  hoe 
or  cultivator  in  its  first  season  —  a  process 

which  at  once  destroys  it. 


NARROW-LEAVED   LAUREL 
Kdlmia  angustifblia,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Dwarf  Laurel,  Sheep  Laurel,  Sheep  Poison, 

Lambkill,  Calfkill,  Wicky. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   June  to  July. 
Seed-time:    Ripe  in  September,  but  often  persistent  on  the  shrub 

until  winter. 
Range:    From  Newfoundland  to  Hudson  Bay  and  southward  to 

Georgia. 
Habitat:   Hillsides,  pastures,  and  bogs. 


ERICACEAE  (HEATH  FAMILY)  309 

Much  loss  is  credited  to  this  poisonous  little  plant  when  flocks 
are  turned  out  to  pasture  in  the  spring.  It  does  most  damage 
when  small,  for  animals  are  most  likely  to  eat  it  when  the  shoots 
are  young  and  tender  and  but  a  few  inches  above  the  ground. 
Children  also  have  been  poisoned  by  mistaking  its  first  little  pinkish 
leaves  for  young  wintergreens  (Gaultheria  procumbens}. 

It  is  a  shrub,  six  inches  to  nearly  three  feet  tall,  slender,  with  a 
few  nearly  erect  branches  and  round,  smooth  twigs.     Leaves  ever- 
green, thick,   smooth,  entire-edged,  pointed  at 
both  ends,  dark  green  above,  light  green  below, 
an  inch  to  two  inches  long  and  a  quarter-inch 
to  a  half -inch  wide,  with  short  petioles  —  about 
a  third  of  an  inch ;   they  grow  in  opposing  pairs 
or  in  whorls  of  three.     Flowers  beautiful,  clus- 
tered on  the  sides  of  the  twigs  at  the  base  of 
the  season's  new  growth;   they  are  small,  five- 
lobed,  saucer-shaped,  bright  pink  or  crimson  in 
color,  a  little  more  than  a  quarter-inch  broad, 
with  thread-like  pedicels  a  half-inch  to  an  inch 
long.     Each  small  saucer  has  around  its  sides 
tiny  pockets  into  which  the  ten  red  anthers  are 
tucked,   the    filaments    of    the    stamens    being 
bent  like  a  spring.     When  these  are  touched 
by  the  tongues  of  foraging  insects  —  or  with  a      FIG.   215.  —  Nar- 
needle  —  the  anthers  are  released  with  a  snap,   row-leaved      Laurel 
flinging    out    the   pollen.     Capsule   five-celled,  jJ5j)**J  £**** 
globose,  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  in  diameter, 
with   the   thread-like,   persistent  style   thrust    out   from   a   deep 
dimple  in  its  apex.     Seeds  very  small,  round,  and  slightly  flattened. 
(Fig.  215.) 

Means  of  control 

Grub  out  or  hand-pull  the  plants  in  the  spring,  when  the  soil  is 
soft.  Animals  do  not  often  eat  the  old  shrubs,  but  those  are  the 
ones  that  bloom  and  fruit  and  bring  on  the  dangerous  young  shoots. 
Cutting  the  plants  causes  them  to  sprout  from  the  roots,  unless 
prevented  by  the  use  of  a  strong  herbicide  such  as  caustic  soda. 


310 


ERICACEAE  (HEATH  FAMILY) 


STAGGER-BUSH 

Lydnia  mariana,  D.  Don. 
(Pleris  mariana,  B.  and  H.) 

Other  English  names:   Maryland  Andromeda,  Calfkill,  Sheepkill. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagated  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:    May  to  June. 

Seed-time:   August  to  September. 

Range:    Rhode  Island  to.  Florida  on  the  Atlantic  slope;    also  in 

Tennessee  and  Arkansas. 
Habitat :   Low,  moist  soil ;   wet  meadows  and  pastures. 

Like  the  Sheep  Laurel,  this  poisonous  plant  does  most  harm 
while  very  small ;  for,  though  cattle  and  sheep  sometimes  browse, 
they  prefer  to  graze,  and  it  is 
usually  the  young,  green  shoots 
which  spring  up  in  damp,  sandy 
pastures  that  are  eaten  by  sheep 
and  calves  and  cause  them  to 
stagger  dizzily  about,  with  slaver- 
ing mouths  and  labored  breathing, 
until  they  fall  and  die.  (Fig.  216.) 
Stems  one  to  four  feet  tall,  with 
slender  branches  held  nearly  up- 
right ;  the  bark  of  old  wood  is 
specked  with  black  dots.  Leaves 
alternate,  oblong,  smooth  and 
glossy  above  but  sparingly  hairy 
on  the  heavy  veins  and  the  mid- 
rib below,  the  under  surface  black- 
dotted,  two  or  three  inches  in 
length,  pointed  at  both  ends,  with 
short  petioles  and  entire  edges,  the 
margins  slightly  revolute;  they 
cling  to  the  twigs  until  very  late  in  the  season,  but  are  not  ever- 
green. The  flowers  grow  on  the  leafless  wood  of  the  preceding 
year's  growth  and  are  clustered  just  above  the  scars  of  last  year's 
leaves ;  they  are  white  or  faintly  rosy  nodding  bells,  with  bulging 
bases  and  slightly  constricted  throats,  a  little  larger  than  lilies  of 
the  valley,  which  they  somewhat  resemble  in  form.  The  calyx  is 


FIG.   216.  —  Stagger-bush    (Lyonia 
mariana).     X  J. 


PRIMULACEAE  (PRIMROSE  FAMILY)  311 

five-lobed  and  the  bell-like  corolla  has  five  recurved  teeth ;  stamens 
ten,  included ;  style  columnar  and  ovary  five-celled.  Capsule 
pointed-ovoid,  five-angled,  and  five-celled,  filled  with  many  club- 
shaped  seeds,  none  of  which  should  be  allowed  to  sow  themselves 
and  bring  on  the  deadly  young  shoots. 
Measures  for  control  the  same  as  for  Sheep  Laurel. 

SCARLET   PIMPERNEL 
Anagdllis  arvensis,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Red  Chickweed,  Poison  Chickweed,  Wink-a- 

peep,  Shepherd's  Clock,  Poor  Man's  Weather  Glass,  Poisonweed 

(on  the  Pacific  coast). 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   May  to  September. 
Seed-time:   June  to  October. 
Range:    Newfoundland   to  Vancouver  Island  and    southward    to 

Florida  and  Texas.     Most  abundant  on  the  Pacific  Coast  and 

also  in  the  Atlantic  States. 
Habitat:   Gardens,  lawns,  fields,  meadows,  pastures,  waste  places. 

Like  the  Chickweed,  this  plant  has  accompanied  the  European 
emigrant  to  every  part  of  the  world,  its  seeds  mingled  with  those 
of  better  plants.  Where  abundant  it  is  not  only  a  troublesome 
weed,  but  also  dangerous,  for  it  is  poisonous,  all  parts  of  it  having 
"pronounced  diuretic  and  narcotic  properties,"  and  it  is  said  to 
be  especially  injurious  to  horses,  sometimes  fatally  so.  When 
growing  in  pastures  cattle  usually  reject  it  and  it  is  left  to  reproduce 
itself. 

Stems  six  to  eighteen  inches  long,  smooth,  four-angled,  weak, 
and  slender,  some  prostrate  and  some  ascending,  branched  and 
spreading.  Leaves  opposite  or  sometimes  in  whorls  of  three,  or 
those  near  the  top  sometimes  alternate,  a  quarter  inch  to  a  half- 
inch  long,  ovate,  entire,  sessile  or  slightly  clasping,  black-dotted 
on  the  under  side.  Flowers  lifted  on  very  slender,  almost  hair- 
like,  axillary  peduncles ;  the  calyx  has  five  narrow,  keeled,  and 
pointed  lobes,  united  at  base  and  persistent;  corolla  usually 
bright  scarlet  but  sometimes  salmon-color,  occasionally  white, 
about  a  third  of  an  inch  broad,  wheel-shaped,  five-lobed,  with 
each  lobe  minutely  fringed  at  the  tip  with  fine,  glandular  hairs; 


312  APOCYNACEAE  (DOGBANE  FAMILY} 

the  five  stamens  have  hairy  filaments.  The 
flowers  open  only  in  the  brightest  sunshine, 
closing  quickly  if  clouds  obscure  the  light 
and  usually  by  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
even  in  good  weather.  Capsule  membra- 
naceous  and  one-celled,  nearly  globular, 
smooth,  many-seeded,  opening  by  a  circular 
line  near  the  top  which  falls  off  like  a  lid ; 
the  pedicels  are  recurved  as  they  ripen  and 
the  small,  dark,  triangular,  finely  pitted 
seeds  are  emptied  out.  Seed  matures 
within  three  weeks  from  the  time  of  bloom 
and  retains  its  vitality  in  the  soil  for  at 
least  two  years.  (Fig.  217.) 

Means  of  control 

In  gardens  and  fields,  early  and  persist- 
ent cultivation  is  necessary  in  order  to  pre- 
FIG.  217. —  Scarlet    vent  the  weed  from  ripening  and  distribut- 
Pimpernel  (Anagallis  ar-    ing  its  seeds.     Badly  infested  pastures  and 
meadows  should  be  put  under  cultivation; 

thick  patches  should  be  burned  over  for  the  purpose  of  destroying 
seeds  on  the  surface  before  breaking  the  ground. 

SPREADING   DOGBANE 
Apocynum  androsoemtfolium,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Wandering  Milkweed,  Milk  Ipecac,  Honey- 
bloom,  Bitter-root. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom:  June  to  August. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:  Anticosti  to  British  Columbia,  southward  to  Georgia,  Ne- 
braska, and  Arizona. 

Habitat:  Fields,  roadsides,  and  thickets  ;  frequently  troublesome  in 
vineyards. 

A  poisonous  weed,  but  very  graceful  and  attractive,  growing 
usually  in  patches  or  colonies  because  of  its  extensive  creeping, 


APOCJNACEAE  (DOGBANE  FAMILY) 


313 


horizontal  rootstocks,  from  which  new  plants  are  sent  up  at  short 
intervals.  All  parts  of  the  plant,  even  the  rootstocks,  are  filled 
with  an  acrid,  milky  juice.  (Fig.  218.) 

Stems  somewhat  shrubby,  one  to  three  feet  tall,  smooth,  very 
slender,  branching  at  wide  angles,  reddish  on  the  upper  side  where 
exposed  to  the  sunlight,  green  beneath.  Leaves  opposite,  ovate 
to  oblong,  entire,  smooth  and  dark  green  above,  somewhat  hairy 
and  paler  beneath,  acutely  tipped, 
rounded  or  blunt-pointed  at  base, 
with  short,  often  reddish  petioles. 
Flowers  in  terminal  and  axillary 
cymose  clusters,  the  corollas  nod- 
ding, bell-shaped,  with  five  re- 
curving lobes,  pale  pink,  marked 
with  lines  of  deeper  pink,  fragrant ; 
stamens  five,  inserted  on  the  base 
of  the  corolla  and  alternating 
with  five  small  triangular  append- 
ages below  the  throat  and  opposite 
the  lobes.  Ovaries  two,  distinct 
and  free  from  the  calyx  forming 
twin  follicles,  round,  slender,  four 
or  more  inches  long,  smooth, 
curved,  stuffed  with  many  thin, 
flat,  brown  seeds  tipped  with  tufts 
of  fine  white  floss,  by  which  the  wind  is  enabled  to  give  them 
wide  distribution. 


FIG.    218.  —  Spreading   Dogbane 
(Apocynum  androscemifolium).     X  i. 


Means  of  control 

When  colonies  of  the  weed  appear  near  house  grounds  or  barn 
yards,  they  should  be  killed  at  once  by  the  use  of  strong,  hot  brine 
or  caustic  soda.  In  field,  pasture,  or  fence  row,  the  spud  or  the 
scythe  should  be  frequently  used,  beginning  with  the  first  bloom 
and  repeating  as  new  shoots  appear,  dry  salt  being  used  for  the 
purpose  of  checking  new  growth.  Rankly  infested  ground  is  most 
easily  cleansed  by  breaking  it  up,  exposing  the  rootstocks  during 
hot  summer  weather. 


314 


APOCYNACEAE  (DOGBANE  FAMILY) 


BLACK   INDIAN   HEMP 
Apocynum  cannabinum,  L. 

Other  English  names:  American  Hemp,  Indian  Physic,  Choctaw 
Root,  Bowman's  Root,  Amy  Root,  Dropsy  Root,  Rheumatism 
weed. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:  Anticosti  to  British  Columbia,  southward  to  Florida,  Texas, 
and  southern  California. 

Habitat :   Moist  soil ;   fields  and  thickets. 

Nearly  related  to  the  Spreading  Dogbane,  quite  as  obnoxious, 
but  lacking  its  beauty.  This  plant  is  valuable  medicinally, 
and  the  roots,  gathered  in  autumn, 
cleaned,  and  dried,  bring  eight  to  ten 
cents  a  pound  in  the  drug  market; 
the  inner  bark  yields  a  fine  and  very 
strong  fiber,  but  no  commercial  use 
is  made  of  it. 

Root  deep,  vertical,  branching. 
Stems  one  to  five  feet  tall,  smooth, 
erect,  with  ascending  branches. 
Leaves  two  to  four  inches  in  length, 
oblong,  pointed  at  both  ends  or 
sometimes  rounded  at  base,  entire, 
pale  green,  smooth  above,  occasion- 
ally somewhat  hairy  beneath,  those 
on  the  main  stem  having  distinct 
petioles,  those  on  the  branches  often 
nearly  sessile.  Flowers  terminal 
(sometimes  axillary)  in  rather  dense 
cymes,  held  erect;  calyx  with  five 
lobes,  nearly  as  long  as  the  tube  of 
the  very  small,  five-lobed,'  greenish 
x  i-  white  corolla.  Pods  in  pairs,  similar 

to  those  of  the  Spreading  Dogbane.     (Fig.  219.) 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  preceding  species. 


FIG.  219.  — Black  Indian 
Hemp  (Apocynum  cannabinum). 


ASCLEPIADACEAE  (MILKWEED  FAMILY) 


315 


BUTTERFLY  WEED 
Asclepias  tuber  osa,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Orange  Milkweed,  Orange  root,  White  Root, 

Pleurisy  Root,  Wind  Root,  Swallow-wort. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:  June  to  August. 
Seed-time:   August  to  October. 
Range:    Ontario  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  Florida,  Texas,  and 

Arizona. 
Habitat:   Dry  fields  and  pastures. 

The  most  showy  of  the  Milkweeds.  Where  abundant,  the  plant 
may  be  made  to  pay  for  the  cost  of  its  suppression  by  the  sale  of 
its  white,  tuberous  roots,  which  are 
valuable  medicinally  and  bring  six 
to  ten  cents  a  pound  in  the  drug 
market;  they  should  be  collected  in 
autumn,  when  well  stored  with  sus- 
tenance for  the  winter. 

Stems  several  from  the  clustered 
tubers,  one  to  two  feet  high,  erect, 
branched  at  the  top,  round,  and 
very  hairy  ;  they  lack  the  milky 
juice  so  characteristic  of  the  family. 
Leaves  alternate,  oblong  to  lance- 
shaped,  acute  or  sometimes  obtuse 
at  apex,  entire,  hairy  on  both  sides, 
sessile  or  with  very  short  petioles. 
Flowers  in  large  flat-topped  umbels 
terminating  stem  and  branches,  bril- 
liant orange  in  color;  butterflies  of 
many  kinds  are  nearly  always  hover- 
ing  about  them  ;  the  five  lower  seg- 
ments  of  the  corolla  are  reflexed 

and  the  crown  above  it  has  five  small,  spreading  hoods,  each 
of  which  has  within  it  a  slender,  incurving  horn.  Stamens  five, 
inserted  on  the  base  of  the  corolla,  the  filaments  forming  a  tube 
which  incloses  the  pistil,  the  anthers  adherent  to  the  stigma; 
ovaries  two,  with  very  short  styles  connected  at  the  summit  by 


220._Butterfly  Weed 
(Asdepias  tuberosa).     x  I 


316  ASCLEPIADACEAE  (MILKWEED  FAMILY) 

the  disk-like  stigma.  The  fruits  are  twin  follicles,  three  to  five 
inches  long,  gray-hairy,  pointed  at  both  ends,  their  pedicels  so 
bent  as  to  hold  them  nearly  erect.  Seeds  flat,  margined,  brown, 
bearing  a  coma  or  tuft  of  long,  silky  hairs.  (Fig.  220.) 

Means  of  control 

Persistently  deprive  the  tuberous  roots  of  green  growth  above 
ground  and  they  will  at  length  wither  and  die.  Begin  cutting 
before  the  first  flowers  mature,  and  repeat  as  often  as  new  shoots 
put  forth.  Dry  salt  applied  to  the  shorn  surfaces  will  check  new 
growth. 

SWAMP  MILKWEED 
Asclepias  incarnata,  L. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   Late  August  to  October. 

Range:   New  Brunswick  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  southward  to 

Tennessee,  Louisiana,  and  Kansas. 
Habitat :  Wet  ground ;   low  meadows,  swamps,  and  along  ditches. 

In  a  report  on  "Fiber  Investigations"  made  by  the  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture,  it  is  stated  that  this  plant 
yields  a  tough  fiber,  finer  than  that  of  hemp,  soft,  glossy,  and 
possessed  of  great  strength.  Binder  twine  made  of  it  stood  a 
breaking  test  of  ninety-five  to  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds. 
It  is  a  pity  that  the  plant  is  not  utilised  so  as  to  make  valuable 
many  a  profitless  swamp  or  marsh.  Its  hard,  knotty  roots  are  used 
in  medicine,  and  are  worth  three  or  four  cents  a  pound  when  col- 
lected in  late  autumn  and  carefully  dried. 

Stems  slender,  two  to  five  feet  tall,  round,  smooth,  often  reddish, 
sometimes  simple  but  usually  branching  above,  leafy  to  the  sum- 
mit. Leaves  opposite,  oblong-lance-shaped,  smooth,  long-pointed, 
usually  obtuse  at  base,  with  rather  short  petioles.  Flowers  rosy 
purple,  in  flattened  umbels,  the  pedicels  finely  hairy ;  the  hoods 
of  the  crown  erect  and  slim,  the  pointed  horns  within  being  as 
sharp  as  needles  and  longer  than  the  hoods.  Follicles  slender, 
pointed  at  both  ends,  and  held  erect. 


ASCLEPIADACEAE  (MILKWEED  FAMILY)  317 

Means  of  control 

Drainage  of  the  ground  is  the  first  step  toward  the  destruction 
of  Swamp  Milkweed,  after  which  it  needs  to  be  kept  closely  cut 
throughout  the  growing  season  in  order  to  starve  the  perennial 
roots. 

SHOWY   MILKWEED 

Asclepias  specidsa,  Torr. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   June  to  August. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:    Minnesota  to  British  Columbia,  southward  to  Arkansas, 

Utah,  and  California. 
Habitat :   Moist  soil ;   wet  meadows  and  along  streams. 

Plants  of  this  species  are  sometimes  smooth,  but  usually  they 
are  finely  white-woolly  all  over,  even  to  the  flowers,  of  which  the 
calyx  is  densely  so.  Stems  simple,  stout,  one  to  two  and  a  half 
feet  tall.  Leaves  opposite,  thick,  broadly  ovate  to  heart-shaped, 
grayish  green,  with  large  veins  and  short,  stout  petioles.  Umbels 
many-flowered,  the  corollas  greenish  purple,  the  pedicels  and  the 
stout  peduncle  softly  hairy.  Follicles  plump,  three  or  four  inches 
long,  covered  with  soft,  spinous  processes,  and  also  densely  white- 
woolly,  held  erect  or  slightly  spreading  on  recurved  pedicels. 

Means  of  control 

Drainage  of  the  ground.  Uprooting  with  grubbing-hoe  or  plow, 
or  such  close  and  persistent  cutting  as  to  rob  the  perennial  roots 
of  all  sustenance. 

COMMON   MILKWEED 
Asclepias  syrlaca,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Silkweed,  Cottonweed. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  August. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:   New  Brunswick  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  southward  to 

Georgia,  Missouri,  and  Kansas. 
Habitat:   Fields,  pastures,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 


318 


ASCLEPIADACEAE  (MILKWEED  FAMILY) 


The  horizontal  creeping  rootstock  which  makes  this  plant  such 
a  noxious  weed  is  often  six  or  eight  feet  long,  wrinkled,  cylindrical, 
white  inside,  with  a  grayish  brown  bark,  warty  with  the  scars  of 
former  stems.  It  is  medicinally  valuable,  and,  when  collected  in 
autumn,  cleaned,  transversely  sliced  and  dried,  is  worth  six  to  eight 
cents  a  pound  in  the  drug  market.  Grazing  cattle  dislike  the  bitter, 
milky  juice  and  the  weed  is  a  pest  in  pastures.  When  young,  the 
crisp,  succulent  shoots  make  an 
excellent  "dish  of  greens,"  cooked 
like  asparagus.  (Fig.  221.) 

Stem  stout,  two  to  five  feet  tall, 
softly  downy  when  young  but 
growing  smooth  with  age,  erect, 
and  usually  simple.  Leaves  ar- 
ranged in  opposing  pairs  on  alter- 
nate sides  of  the  stalk,  oblong  to 
elliptic,  smooth  above,  finely  downy 
below,  entire,  the  nerves  extend- 
ing from  the  strong  midrib  uniting 
themselves  by  a  bordering  thread 
before  reaching  the  margin ;  peti- 
oles stout,  very  short.  Umbels 
terminal  and  lateral,  dense,  the 
flowers  dull  purple  to  pinkish, 
fragrant.  Follicles  three  or  four 
inches  long,  downy,  and  covered 
with  soft,  spinous  projections. 
Seeds  very  many,  brown,  flat, 
their  tufts  of  fine  silken  hair  long 
and  thick.  Should  they  fall  on  water,  Milkweed  seeds  can  float,  as 
well  as  fly,  for  each  has  a  corky  margin  which  makes  of  it  a  raft. 


FIG.  221.  — Common   Milkweed 
(Asdepias  syriaca).     X  \. 


Means  of  control 

Cutting  and  many  times  cutting,  throughout  the  growing  season, 
depriving  the  rootstocks  of  all  sustenance  if  possible.  Plants 
should  not  be  allowed  to  form  fruit  before  cutting,  for  the  pods 
ripen  on  the  stalks. 


ASCLEPIADACEAE  (MILKWEED  FAMILY)  319 


CLIMBING   MILKWEED 

Gondlobus  laevis,  Miehx. 

(Ampelanus  dlbidus,  Britton) 

(Enslenia  dlbida,  Nutt.) 

Other  English  names:   Angle-pod,  Sand  Vine,  White  Swallow-wort. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 
Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:   Pennsylvania  to  Kansas,  southward  to  Florida  and  Texas. 
Habitat :   Fence  rows  and  thickets,  waste  places ;   also  troublesome 
in  cultivated  ground. 

Vines  such  as  this  furnish  a  good  argument  against  too  many 
fences,  as  it  is  practically  impossible  to  clean  out  the  weed  with- 
out removing  its  support.  Steins  eight  to  twelve  or  more  feet 
long,  slender,  twining,  smooth  or  minutely  hairy  in  lines,  filled 
with  milky  juice.  Leaves  three  to  five  inches  long,  opposite,  thin, 
heart-shaped,  long-pointed,  smooth,  entire,  with  long  petioles. 
Flowers  in  axillary  cymose  clusters,  very  small,  bell-shaped,  five- 
lobed,  cream-white,  fragrant;  stamens  five,  the  filaments  united 
into  a  short  tube ;  stigma  slightly  two-lobed ;  peduncles  rather 
stout,  not  so  long  as  the  leaves,  pedicels  thread-like,  longer  than 
the  flowers.  Follicles  three  to  five  inches  long,  erect,  smooth, 
wing-angled.  Seeds  flat,  brown,  tufted  with  silken  hair. 

Means  of  control 

The  weed  is  a  persistent  one  and  frequent  and  deep  cutting  is 
necessary  in  order  to  keep  it  in  check,  beginning  when  it  is  in  early 
bloom  and  repeating  as  new  shoots  put  forth.  Dry  salt  or  a  few 
drops  of  carbolic  acid  will  help  in  retarding  new  growth. 

BLACK   SWALLOW-WORT 

Cyndnchum  nlgrum,  Pers. 
(Vincetdxicum  nlgrum,  Moench) 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:   Massachusetts  to  Michigan,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio. 

Habitat:   Old  fields,  fence  rows,  thickets,  and  waste  places. 


320  CONVOLVULACEAE  (CONVOLVULUS  FAMILY) 

This  plant,  like  the  preceding  one,  is 
often  called  Climbing  Milkweed ;  the  milky 
juices  are  poisonous.  It  is  an  immigrant 
from  Europe,  first  planted  in  gardens  for 
its  beauty;  but  the  silken-winged  seeds 
made  an  easy  escape  and  now  the  weed  is 
a  frequent  nuisance  in  ground  not  under 
cultivation.  (Fig.  222.) 

Stems  twining,  slender,  three  to  six  feet 
long,  slightly  hairy,  often  brownish  red 
where  exposed  to  the  light.  Leaves  op- 
posite, long-ovate,  thin,  dark  green,  smooth, 
entire,  pointed  at  tip  and  rounded  at  base, 
with  prominent,  sometimes  reddish,  veins 
and  short  petioles.  Flowers  in  axillary 
cymose  clusters,  small,  saucer-shaped,  the 
five  spreading  lobes  somewhat  twisted, 
hairy  within,  deep  purple;  peduncles 
shorter  than  the  leaves.  Follicles  about 
two  inches  long,  pointed  at  both  ends, 
smooth.  Seeds  flat,  brown,  tipped  with 
silken  floss. 

FIG  222  —  Black  Swal-       Means  °f  control   the  same  as  for  the 
low-wort  (Cynanchum  ni-  preceding  species.     It  is  more  pernicious, 
x  i.  and  requires  persistent  treatment 


WILD   SWEET   POTATO   VINE 
Ipomcea  pandurata,  G.  F!  W.  Mey. 

Other  English  names:   Man-of-the-Earth,  Mecha-Meck. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   May  to  September. 

Seed-time:   Late  June  to  October. 

Range:     Eastern    Canada   and   New   England    to   Michigan    and 

Kansas,  southward  to  Florida  and  Texas. 
Habitat :   Dry  soil ;   thickets  and  waste  places. 

The  very  large  fleshy  roots  of  this  plant  are  edible  and  sweet, 
and  are  buried  very  deep  in  the  ground  below  the  reach  of  frost ; 


CONVOLVULACEAE  (CONVOLVULUS  FAMILY) 


321 


they  are  sometimes  more  than  two  feet  long,  and  so  thick  as  to 
attain  a  weight  of  over  thirty  pounds.  Several  stout,  smooth 
stems  spring  from  the  same  root,  trailing  or  twining  for  a  length 
of  three  to  twelve  feet.  Leaves  alternate,  deep  green,  heart- 
shaped,  long  pointed,  sometimes 
drawn  in  at  the  sides  to  a  fiddle- 
shape,  two  to  six  inches  long, 
with  slender  petioles  often  longer 
than  the  blades.  Flowers  like 
those  of  the  morning  glory,  the 
corollas  funnel-shaped,  two  to  three 
inches  long,  white,  with  five  pink- 
ish purple  stripes,  often  several 
on  one  stalk,  which  lengthens  very 
much  as  the  seed  ripens ;  stamens 
five,  inserted  low  down  on  the 
tube  of  the  corolla  and  alternat- 
ing with  its  lobes;  ovary  two 
celled,  with  entire  or  two-lobed 
stigma.  Capsules  globular,  two- 
celled,  containing  two  to  four 
seeds,  which  have  fine  wool  all 
around  the  margins.  (Fig.  223.) 

Means  of  control 

Except  to  satisfy  hunger  it  would  FIG.  223.  -  Wild  Sweet  Potato  Vine 

, .      f          ,  ,        ,  (Ipom-ea  pandurata) .     X  i- 

not   pay  to  dig  for  these  deeply 

buried  roots.  Repeated  deep  cutting  of  the  stems,  putting  a  hand- 
ful of  salt  or  a  few  spoonfuls  of  crude  carbolic  acid  on  the  shorn 
surfaces,  will  finally  subdue  the  weed. 


FIELD   BINDWEED 
Convdlvulus  arvensis,  L. 

Other  English  names :  European  Bindweed,  Small-flowered  Morning- 

Glory,  Cow-bind,  Bell-bind. 
Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  horizontal 

roots  that  bud  new  plants. 


322 


CONVOLVULACKAE  (CONVOLVULUS  FAMILY) 


Time  of  bloom:   June  throughout  the  summer. 

Seed-time:   August  until  cut  off  by  frost. 

Range:  Nova  Scotia  to  Manitoba,  southward  to  Virginia,  Missouri, 

and  Kansas. 
Habitat :   Rich  soil ;   fields,  meadows,  and  waste  places. 

A  most  obnoxious  weed,  spreading  chiefly  by  means  of  its  long, 
creeping,  cord-like  roots,  which  at  any  part  of  their  length  may 
bud  new  plants.  Stems  smooth,  slightly 
angled,  slender,  one  to  three  feet  long,  twin- 
ing about  and  over  any  plant  within  reach, 
robbing  it  of  air  and  light  while  the  roots 
below  are  starving  it  of  food  and  moisture. 
Leaves  alternate,  halberd-shaped,  with  back- 
ward-pointing lobes  at  the  base,  on  slender 
petioles.  Flowers  pink,  sometimes  nearly 
white,  funnel-shaped,  about  an  inch  across, 
usually  but  one  or  two  on  each  slender  pe- 
duncle, but  occasionally  three  or  four ;  calyx 
not  bracted  at  the  base  as  in  the  following 
species,  but  there  are  two  small  scale-like 
bracts,  some  distance  below,  on  the  peduncle. 
Capsules  globular,  two-celled,  usually  four- 
seeded.  Seeds  dark  brown,  about  one-eighth 
of  an  inch  long,  pear-shaped,  rough,  with  one 
side  flat  and  the  other  rounded ;  too  frequently 
an  impurity  of  other  seeds.  (Fig.  224.) 

FIG.  224.  —  Field  Means  of  control 
Bindweed  (Convolvulus        0 

arvensis).    xj.  ^ow    cfeofi    seed.      Put    the    ground    under 

clean  cultivation  for  two  years ;  the  infested 
land  should  be  deeply  plowed  and  as  many  as  possible  of  the 
whip-cord  roots  harrowed  out  or  raked  out  and  destroyed,  or 
they  may  be  fed  to  pigs ;  but  each  bit  left  in  the  soil  will  start 
new  growth  and  tillage  must  be  so  frequent  and  so  thorough  that 
no  green  leaves  are  permitted  to  feed  these  roots.  Where  it  is 
practicable  to  grow  alfalfa,  this  crop  tends  to  smother  the  Bind- 
weed with  its  thick  cover  and  the  frequent  cutting  checks  leaf 
growth  of  the  weed  and  prevents  seeding.  Or  infested  land  may 


CONVOLVULACEAE  (CONVOLVULUS  FAMILY) 


323 


be  broken  up  with  the  plow  and  hogs  may  be  turned  in  —  with 
snouts  in  working  order  —  for  the  purpose  of  turning  out  and 
eating  the  succulent  roots,  of  which  they  are  very  fond.  Sheep 
pasturing  on  infested  ground  will  also  keep  leaf-growth  down  and 
will  starve  the  underground  growth. 


HEDGE   BINDWEED 
Convolvulus  sepium,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Great  Bindweed,  Bracted  Bindweed,  Hedge 

Lily,  Rutland  Beauty,  Devil's  Vine. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 
Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 
Seed-time:    Late  July  to  October. 
Range:    Nova  Scotia  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  the  Carolinas, 

Missouri,  and  Nebraska, 
Habitat:   Cultivated  ground,  fence  rows,  thickets,  waste  places. 

Nearly  as  obnoxious  as  the  smaller  Field  Bindweed,  and  about 
as  hard  to  control ;  its  rootstocks,  however, 
are  larger  and  not  so  brittle ;  the  trailing  or 
twining  stems  are  three  to  ten  feet  or  more 
in  length.  Leaves  smooth,  long,  triangular 
halberd-shaped,  the  basal  lobes  diverging  and 
truncate;  petioles  slender,  usually  shorter 
than  the  blades.  Flowers  solitary,  about 
two  inches  long,  the  corollas  flaring  funnel- 
shaped,  pink,  with  white  stripes,  or  clear 
white,  lifted  on  slender  axillary  four-angled 
peduncles,  often  five  or  six  inches  in  length. 
Just  below  the  flower  and  overlapping  and 
concealing  its  five-lobed  calyx  is  a  pair 
of  large,  heart-shaped  bracts,  which  are 
persistent  and  enfold  the  fruit.  Capsule 
globular  and  may  contain  four  seeds,  but 
often  only  two  or  three  are  fertile;  the 
seeds  are  angular  kidney-shaped,  about  an 
eighth  of  an  inch  long,  dark  brown.  They 
retain  vitality  for  several  years.  (Fig.  Bi^eef  5(C7 


225.) 


sepium) . 


324  CONVOLVULACEAE  (CONVOLVULUS  FAMILY) 

Means  of  control 

Persistently  starve  the  rootstocks  by  the  frequent  close  cutting 
of  the  stems.  This  weed  is  an  argument  against  any  more  fences 
than  are  an  absolute  necessity.  It  loves  the  mellow  soil  of  a 
cornfield  and,  though  it  may  be  well  fought  until  the  corn  crop 
attains  full  stature,  too  often  the  later  growth  is  neglected ;  after 
the  "ears  begin  to  fill"  the  pest  is  permitted  to  mature  seed  as 
well  as  to  make  sufficient  leaf-growth  to  restock  the  pernicious 
underground  storehouses  with  food  for  another  year.  There  can 
be  no  such  relaxing  of  the  struggle  if  the  weed  is  to  be  sup- 
pressed ;  it  must  be  cut  and  again  cut  until  the  corn  is  laid  by. 
Other  measures,  such  as  are  advised  for  Field  Bindweed,  may 
also  be  used  for  this  plant. 

CLOVER  DODDER 

Ciiscuta  Epithymum,  Murr. 

Other  English  names:  Love-vine,  Strangle  Weed,  Hairweed,  Devil's 

Hair,  Devil's  Gut,  Hellbind. 
Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:  June  to  September. 
Seed-time:  August  to  October. 
Range:   Locally  in  most  of  the  states. 
Habitat :   Wherever  the  clovers  or  alfalfa  are  extensively  grown. 

The  farmer  who  sees  his  newly  seeded  clover  or  alfalfa  field 
partly  or  wholly  in  the  grip  of  this  parasite  gets  a  realizing  sense 
of  the  value  of  clean  seed.  For  the  Dodder  is  there  because  it 
was  sown  there  with  the  crop.  If  the  plant  is  allowed  to  ripen 
fruit,  the  ground  will  be  made  foul  and  unfitted  for  similar  crops 
for  at  least  eight  years,  the  dormant  vitality  of  the  seed  being  re- 
tained for  a  period  of  five  to  seven  years. 

The  parasite  awakens  late  —  nearly  a  month  after  the  green- 
leaved  plants  on  which  it  must  depend  have  started  growth ;  it 
germinates  in  the  soil  but  draws  from  it  no  sustenance.  The 
seedling  looks  like  a  bit  of  yellowish  red  hair,  two  to  four  inches 
long,  with  a  slight  knob,  or  swelling,  at  one  end,  swaying  pliantly 
about,  searching  for  a  host  plant  to  which  it  may  attach  itself. 
If  no  such  plant  is  within  reach  the  seedling  falls  to  the  ground  and 


CONVOLVULACEAE  (CONVOLVULUS  FAMILY) 


325 


dies ;  if  there  is  such  a  plant,  the 
parasite  quickly  twines  about  it, 
develops  tiny,  wart-like  suckers 
at  tb.e  point  of  contact,  breaks 
connection  with  the  earth,  and 
thereafter  "sponges  its  living," 
drawing  from  the  host  plant  the 
food  assimilated  by  the  green 
leaves  for  its  own  growth.  Con- 
sequently the  Dodder  needs  no 
leaves  and  has  none,  the  whole 
plant  being  a  mere  coarse,  yel- 
lowish red  thread,  branching  very 
freely  and  the  branches  behaving 
as  did  the  original  filament,  reach- 
ing out  for  living  support,  em- 
bracing it,  and  then  often  parting 
from  the  main  stalk  and  becom- 
ing separate  plants ;  so  that  the 
growth  from  a  single  seed  may 
cover  a  considerable  extent  of 
ground,  binding  the  herbage  into 
a  tangled  mass  and  sucking  out 
its  life.  The  parasite  itself  dies 
at  the  point  where  its  growth 
started,  when  its  hosts  are  killed, 
but  the  many  spreading  branches 
continue  their  existence.  Even 
a  broken  bit  of  stalk,  dropped 
where  it  can  seize  on  a  host, 
promptly  takes  hold  and  starts 
a  new  center.  (Fig.  226.) 

The  small  flowers  are  whitish 
or  faintly  tinged  with  pink,  ses- 
sile, massed  in  dense  clusters ; 
calyx  five-lobed  or  occasionally 
only  four-lobed,  acute;  corolla  FIG.  226.  -  Clover  Dodder  (Cus- 
,.  111  i  J  -XL  cuta  Epithymum).  X  J.  Capsule  and 
lobes  spreading,  bell-shaped,  with  seed  very  much  eniarged. 


326  CONVOLVULACEAE  (CONVOLVULUS  FAMILY) 

as  many  stamens  as  lobes  set  between  their  points  and  ex- 
serted;  ovary  two-celled  and  style  two-parted.  Scales  within 
the  corolla  tube  large,  incurved,  and  toothed  all  round.  Cap- 
sules small,  globular,  two-celled,  four-seeded,  but  often  only 
two  or  three  seeds  are  developed.  Seeds  very  small,  rounded, 
oval,  grayish  or  yellowish  brown;  they  are  the  most  dangerous, 
the  most  to  be  dreaded  of  all  the  impurities  of  clover  seeds.  No 
seed  should  ever  be  harvested  from  a  Dodder-infested  clover  field 
and  such  seed  should  be  unsalable  at  any  price.  Neither  should 
such  a  crop  be  harvested  and  fed  as  hay,  for  the  seeds,  uninjured 
and  viable,  often  pass  the  digestive  tracts  of  animals,  and  may 
be  spread  on  other  fields  in  the  manure,  not  to  speak  of  the  seeds 
that  would  be  scattered  wherever  the  hay  was  handled.  Baled 
hay  is  one  of  the  sources  of  Dodder  distribution. 

Means  of  control 

Sow  clean  seed.  Infestation  is  often  in  patches  where  a  single 
seed  or  but  a  few  have  germinated.  In  such  a  case,  cut  the  in- 
fested plants  close  to  the  ground,  before  any  seeds  have  ripened 
if  possible,  pile  them  on  the  spot  where  they  grew,  let  them  dry 
for  a  day  or  two,  cover  with  straw,  shavings,  or  some  light  rubbish, 
soak  with  kerosene  oil,  and  burn,  being  careful  to  get  every  thread, 
cutting  beyond  the  apparent  limit  of  damage.  Then  stir  the  sur- 
face soil  of  the  patch  lightly  with  rake  or  hoe,  making  a  small 
trench  about  the  edge,  cover  a  couple  of  inches  deep  with  oil- 
soaked  chaff  or  rubbish,  and  again  burn,  in  order  to  destroy  any 
seeds  that  may  have  matured  and  fallen  to  the  soil.  Or  the  soil 
of  the  patch  may  be  well  sprinkled  with  crude  carbolic  acid.  If 
a  whole  field  is  infested,  it  will  be  best  to  plow  the  crop  under; 
but  it  must  be  done  before  the  seeds  ripen,  indeed  before  they  form, 
else  the  land  will  be  made  unfit  for  occupation  by  clover  or  alfalfa 
for  seven  or  eight  years.  Or,  the  field  may  be  pastured  off  by 
cattle  or  sheep  before  the  seed  ripens ;  but  in  that  case  the  animals 
must  not  be  moved  about,  for  bits  of  stalks  may  adhere  in  the 
clefts  of  their  hoofs,  or  unsuspected  seeds  may  be  in  the  droppings. 
If  seeds  have  been  allowed  to  mature,  the  crop  should  be  mowed, 
dried,  and  burned  on  the  spot,  for  Dodder-infested  crops  should 


CONVOLVULACEAE  (CONVOLVULUS  FAMILY)  327 

not  be  carried  about  because  of  the  danger  of  infection.  Culti- 
vated crops  should  then  be  grown  for  some  years  before  the  land 
is  again  used  for  clover  or  alfalfa. 

Spraying  with  Arsenite  of  soda  has  been  found  in  some  cases  to 
be  satisfactory,  a  solution  of  one  pound  of  the  poison  to  ten  gallons 
of  water  being  used.  The  clover  and  the  alfalfa  were  also  much 
injured,  seemingly  killed  by  the  treatment,  but  recovered  and  made 
new  growth  from  the  roots  after  having  been  relieved  from  the 
strangler's  grip.  A  twenty-per-cent  solution  of  Iron  sulfate  has 
also  been  found  to  be  effective  on  alfalfa  fields,  killing  the  parasite 
and  apparently  destroying  the  crop;  but,  as  with  the  arsenical 
treatment,  new  growth  sprang  from  the  roots. 

FLAX  DODDER 

Ctiscuta  Epilinum,  Weihe 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 

Seed-time:   Late  August  to  October. 

Range :  Wyoming,  Idaho,  the  Dakotas,  and  other  states  where  flax 

is  cultivated. 
Habitat :   Flax  and  alfalfa  fields. 

The  coiling  stems  of  this  species  have  somewhat  less  of  the 
reddish  tinge  that  characterizes  the  Clover  Dodder.  The  flowers 
are  yellowish  white,  and  the  tube  of  the  small,  five-lobed  corolla 
does  not  spread  like  a  bell  but  is  often  slightly  constricted  just 
below  the  lobes  like  the  mouth  of  a  vase ;  stamens  included ; 
scales  short  and  broad,  notched  at  apex  and  toothed  only  part- 
way down  the  sides.  The  seeds  are  very  much  smaller  than  the 
flax  seeds,  of  course,  and  might  very  readily  be  removed  from 
them  if  it  were  not  for  a  habit  that  this  Dodder  has  of  dropping 
seeds  in  pairs,  which  cohere,  making  them  nearly  as  heavy  as 
those  of  the  flax,  though  of  different  shape.  But  seed  from 
Dodder-infested  flax  fields,  if  intended  for  sowing,  should  be 
rejected  at  any  price,  and  even  when  intended  for  linseed-oil 
manufacture,  flax-seed  should  be  very  carefully  cleansed  from  all 
contamination  of  Dodder-seed. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Clover  Dodder. 


328  CONVOLVULACEAE  (CONVOLVULUS  FAMILY) 

FIELD   DODDER 

Cuscuta  arvensis,  Beyrich 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range :  New  York  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  southward  to  Florida 

and  Texas;    also  in  California. 
Habitat :    Open  situations ;   appears  to  dislike  shade. 

This  is  the  most  injurious  species  east  of  the  Mississippi  Valley, 
for  it  is  not  at  all  particular  on  what  it  feeds.  One  single  plant 
has  been  recorded  as  spreading  over  and  drawing  nourishment 
from  eight  different  species  at  once.  Almost  any  herbaceous  plant 
will  do,  but  it  likes  the  clovers  best ;  and  it  likes  to  climb  to  the  top 
of  its  host  plant  and  spread  a  tangled  mass  of  threads  there,  like 
a  carpet ;  therefore  it  is  more  conspicuous  than  the  lower-growing 
Clover  Dodder  and  can  sooner  be  detected  in  a  field. 

The  strangling  stems  are  pale  yellow,  very  slender.  Flowers  in 
dense  roundish  clusters ;  calyx-lobes  broad,  obtuse ;  corolla-lobes 
pointed,  the  points  inflexed  and  the  scales  within  the  tube  of  the 
corolla  much  fringed  ;  stamens  not  exserted ;  capsules  globular. 
Seeds  nearly  double  the  size  of  those  of  Clover  Dodder,  and  in 
consequence  very  much  harder  to  separate  from  clover  seed.  For 
this  reason  it  is  often  called  "Large-seeded  Dodder,"  but  this 
name  is  applied  also  to  the  PRETTY  DODDER  (Cuscuta  indecora, 
Choisy),  which  is  more  common  to  the  western  United  States. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Clover  Dodder. 

COMMON   DODDER 

Ciiscuta  Gronovii,  Willd. 

Other  English  names:   Wild  Dodder,  Onion  Dodder. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:  August  to  October. 

Range :  Nova  Scotia  to  Manitoba,  southward  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Habitat :  Moist  shady  places ;  low  grounds,  meadows,  waste  places. 

This  species  is  probably  the  most  widely  known  of  its  tribe. 
Like  the  Field  Dodder,  it  seems  indifferent  as  to  its  hosts  and, 


POLEMONIACEAE  (POLEMONIUM  FAMILY) 


329 


' '  Like  a  living  skein  enlacing, 
Coiling,  climbing,  turning,  chasing," 


will  embrace  anything  from  a  tall  New  Eng- 
land aster  to  an  onion,  or  even  some  shrubby 
plants,  such  as  the  willows,  and  it  is  a  high 
climber. 

Stems  deep  yellow  to  orange,  rather  coarse. 
Flowers  very  numerous,  in  dense  clusters ; 
corolla  bell-shaped,  waxen  white,  and  its  five 
lobes,  as  well  as  those  of  the  calyx,  rounded 
instead  of  pointed,  the  scales  within  the 
tubes  thickly  fringed  at  summit,  more  spar- 
ingly at  the  sides ;  stamens  exserted.  Cap- 
sules globose  or  short-pointed  ovoid.  Seeds 
comparatively  rather  large.  (Fig.  227.) 

Wherever  the  Common  Dodder  attacks 
cultivated  plants,  both  it  and  they  should 
be  treated  with  scythe  and  fire  before  any 
seed  ripens. 

SKUNKWEED 

Navarretia  squarrdsa,  H.  and  A. 
(Gtlia  squarrdsa,  H.  and  A.) 


FIG.  227.  —  Common 
Dodder  (Ciiscuta  Gro- 
novii).  xi- 


Other  English  names:   Stinkweed,  Pepperweed,  Sticky  Gilia. 

Native.     Annual  or  biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   May  to  July. 

Seed-time:   June  to  September. 

Range:   Washington,  California,  and  Nevada. 

Habitat:   Grain  fields,  meadows,  and  vineyards. 

A  troublesome  and  most  disagreeable  weed,  viscidly  glandular 
and  unpleasant  to  touch,  very  bitter  to  the  taste,  and  emitting  a 
strong,  fetid  odor.  Hay  and  grain  among  which  it  grows  are 
damaged  by  contact  with  it,  for  the  offensive  smell  of  its  sticky 
secretions  is  persistent  and  cattle  reject  not  only  the  weed  but 
also  the  hay  that  has  been  cured  in  touch  with  it. 

Stem  eight  to  fourteen  inches  tall,  erect,  rigid,  branching  from 
the  base,  often  of  a  ruddy  or  a  brownish  hue,  and  covered  with 
glandular  hairs.  Leaves  alternate,  once  or  twice  pinnatifid,  the 


330  HYDROPHYLLACEAE  (WATERLEAF  FAMILY) 

segments  lance-shaped  and  again  cut  or  toothed,  sticky-hairy, 
the  upper  leaves  and  bracts  often  spinescent.  Flowers  blue,  about 
an  eighth  of  an  inch  broad,  in  dense,  axillary 
clusters ;  corolla  funnel-form,  with  five  spread- 
ing lobes  and  five  included  stamens ;  the  calyx 
has  five  spine-tipped,  viscidly  hairy  lobes  as 
long  as  the  corolla  tube.  Capsule  three-celled 
and  three-valved  with  eight  to  twelve  seeds 
in  each  cell.  Seeds  very  small,  and  when  wet 
are  mucilaginous,  which  helps  them  to  be  car- 
ried about  on  farming  tools  and  to  adhere  to 
the  feet  of  animals.  (Fig.  228.) 

Means  of  control 

Put  the  land  under  cultivation  with  a  hoed 
crop.  In  pastures,  meadows,  and  waste  places 
the  plants  should  be  closely  and  repeatedly 
cut  during  the  growing  season,  entirely  pre- 
_F?1'/^!'~r?!cu?k-  venting  seed  development.  Burn  over  rankly 
infested  ground  where  the  plants  have  matured, 
thus  destroying  the  seeds  on  the  surface.  The 
seed  is  said  to  be  short-lived,  and  if  the  plant  is  not  allowed  to 
reproduce  itself  it  must  soon  be  suppressed. 

NYCTELEA 

Ellisia  Nycttlea,  L. 
(Macrocalyx  Nyctelea,  Kuntze.) 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   April  to  June. 
Seed-time:   May  to  July. 

Range:    New  Jersey  to  Minnesota  and  the  Saskatchewan,  south- 
ward to  Virginia,  Missouri,  Nebraska,  and  Colorado. 
Habitat :  Grain  fields,  meadows,  waste  places. 

Although  this  plant  ranges  nearly  across  the  Continent,  it  is 
most  troublesome  as  a  weed  in  the  wheat-growing  country  of  the 
Northwest,  where  it  appears  early  in  spring,  makes  a  rapid  growth 


BORAGINACEAE  (BORAGE  FAMILY) 


331 


which  absorbs  much  of  the  food  and  moisture  needed  by  the  crop, 
matures  its  fruit,  and  dies  down  early  in  July. 

Stem  four  inches  to  a  foot  high,  slender,  and  diffusely  branched. 
Leaves  two  to  four  inches  long,  with  slender  petioles,  the  upper 
ones  alternate,  the  lower  ones  usually  opposite ;  all  are  pinnately 
divided,  but  the  segments  of  the  upper  ones  are  usually  entire, 
those  of  the  lower  ones  toothed  or 
lobed.  The  whole  plant  is  finely 
rough-hairy  and  has  a  rank,  dis- 
agreeable odor.  Flowers  solitary  on 
slender  peduncles,  from  the  forks 
or  opposite  the  leaves ;  occasionally 
the  later  ones  are  in  one-sided  clus- 
ters of  two  or  three.  They  have  a 
calyx  of  five-pointed  lobes  and  a  five- 
lobed,  nearly  cylindrical,  white  or 
bluish  corolla,  with  five  included 
stamens  and  two  styles,  united  at 
the  base.  Calyx  and  corolla  of 
about  the  same  length  (a  little  more 
than  a  quarter-inch)  when  the  flower 
first  opens ;  but  as  the  fruit  forms 
the  calyx  enlarges  and  spreads  widely, 
becoming  a  five-pointed  star-shape,  nearly  an  inch  broad,  with  a 
small  globose  two-celled  capsule  in  the  center  usually  containing 
four  seeds.  (Fig.  229.) 

Means  of  control 

In  grain  fields  the  seedlings  should  be  dragged  out  with  a  weed- 
ing harrow  in  the  spring,  when  the  crop  is  but  a  few  inches  high. 
Short  rotations  with  cultivated  crops  will  most  easily  keep  the 
weed  in  subjection. 

INDIAN   HELIOTROPE 
Heliotrdpium  indicum,  L. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   May  to  September. 
Seed-time:   July  to  November. 


FIG.  229.  —  Field  Nyctelea  (Elli- 
sia  Nyctelea).     X  j. 


332 


BORAGINACEAE  (BORAGE  FAMILY) 


Range:    Virginia  to  Ohio  and  Illinois,  southward  to  Florida  and 

Texas. 
Habitat:  Fields  and  waste  places. 

A  coarse,  many-branched,  and  very 
hairy  plant,  untouched  by  grazing 
animals,  robbing  neighboring  plants 
of  much  food  and  moisture.  Stems 
one  to  three  feet  high,  rather  stout. 
Leaves  alternate,  broadly  ovate  to 
heart-shaped,  three  to  six  inches  long 
and  nearly  as  wide,  with  wavy  edges 
and  short,  slightly  margined  petioles. 
Flowers  in  long,  terminal,  bractless, 
partly  coiled  spikes,  which  straighten 
as  the  blossoms  open  from  the  base 
upward ;  the  season  of  bloom  is  so 
long  that  ripe  seeds  are  falling  from 
the  bases  of  the  spikes  before  the  buds 
cease  to  unfold  at  the  summit;  co- 
rolla salver-form,  violet-blue,  very 
small,  the  tube  longer  than  the 
hairy  calyx ;  stamens  five,  included, 
the  anthers  nearly  sessile.  Fruit 
splitting  into  two  closed  carpels, 
ribbed  on  the  back,  each  usually  con- 
Indian  ^Heliotrope  taining  two  seeds  or  nutlets.  (Fig. 
230.) 


FIG.   230. 

(Heliotropium  indicum). 


Means  of  control 

Prevent   seed   production    by   early,    frequent,    and  persistent 
cutting. 

HOUND'S   TONGUE 
Cynogldssum  officinale,  L. 


Other  English  names:   Dog  Bur,  Dog's  Tongue,  Woolmat. 
Introduced.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 


BORAGINACEAE  (BORAGE  FAMILY) 


333 


Time  of  bloom :  June  to  August. 

Seed-time:  July  to  September. 

Range:   Quebec  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  Georgia  and  Kansas. 

Habitat:   Fields,  pastures,  waste  places. 

A  worthless  weed  anywhere,  but  a  special  pest  in  pastures,  its 
downy-hairy  leaves  having  a  disagreeable  odor  and  a  nauseous 
taste  and  the  burs  being  among  the  worst  that  beset  the  fleeces  of 
sheep. 

Root  rather  thick,  deep-boring,  black, 
crowned  the  first  year  with  tufted,  dull 
green  leaves,  six  inches  to  a  foot  in 
length,  oblong,  pointed  —  shaped  some- 
what like  a  hound's  tongue  —  with  long, 
channeled  petioles ;  stem-leaves  much 
smaller,  and  sessile  or  clasping  by  rounded 
or  heart-shaped  bases.  Flowering  stalk 
one  to  three  feet  tall,  stout,  leafy,  branch- 
ing near  the  top.  Racemes  terminal, 
simple  or  branching,  lengthening  as  the 
flowers  mature ;  the  latter  reddish  purple, 
the  corolla  funnel-form,  five-lobed,  less 
than  a  half-inch  broad,  with  five  included 
stamens,  a  single  style  and  deeply  four- 
lobed  ovary.  The  hairy  calyx  enlarges 
as  the  burs  mature;  these  are  comprised 
of  four  pointed  obovoid,  compressed,  nut- 
lets, each  about  a  quarter-inch  long, 
covered  with  short,  barbed  prickles,  and 
forming  a  small  pyramid  with  the  withered  style  for  its  peak, 
to  which  they  are  attached  so  slightly  that  a  touch  from 
a  passing  animal  or  a  garment  will  detach  and  carry  them 
away.  (Fig.  231.) 


FIG.  231.  — Hound's 
Tongue  (Cynoglossum  offi- 
cinale).  X  4- 


Means  of  control 

Deep  cutting  of  the  crown  leaves,  with  spud  or  hoe,  in  late  fall 
or  early  spring.  Fruiting  stalks  should  be  cut  close  to  the  ground 
before  the  first  flowers  mature. 


334  BORAGINACEAE  (BORAGE  FAMILY) 


BLUE  BUR 

Ldppula  echinata,  Gilibert 
(Echinospermum  Ldppula,  Lehm.) 

Other  English  names:    European  Stickseeds,  Sheep  Bur,  Burseed, 

Burweed,  Bur  Forget-me-not. 

Introduced.     Annual  or  winter  annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 
Seed-time:  July  to  September. 
Range:    Nova  Scotia  to  British  Columbia,  southward  to  Virginia, 

Indiana,  and  Nebraska.     Also  in  Texas.     Locally  in  other  states. 
Habitat:    Dry  fields,  pastures,  roadsides,  waste  places. 

This  weed  is  the  cause  of  much  annoyance  and  loss  to  wool- 
growers.  Sheep  have  carried  it  into  many  new  localities,  its 
presence  in  Texas  being  due  to  that  agency.  Stem  one  to  two  feet 
tall,  erect,  slender,  branching  at  the  top,  gray  with  appressed 
hairs.  Leaves  narrow  oblong  to  linear,  entire,  covered  on  both 
sides  with  fine,  appressed,  white  hairs,  sessile  or  the  lowest  spatu- 
late  and  tapering  to  short  petioles.  Flowers  in  terminal  more  or 
less  one-sided,  leafy-bracted  racemes ;  the  pedicels  short,  stout, 
not  deflexed  in  fruit ;  corolla  blue,  hardly  an  eighth  of  an  inch 
broad ;  stamens  included ;  calyx  five-pointed,  enlarging  and 
spreading  as  the  burs  mature ;  these  are  formed  of  the  four 
nutlets,  each  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  long,  angled  on  the 
inner  side,  the  other  side  rounded  and  having  around  the  margin 
a  double  row  of  short  spines  tipped  with  star-shaped  hooks. 
These  spines  break  off  readily,  but  the  fruit  can  still  be  identified, 
when  among  other  seeds,  by  its  angles  and  the  smooth  space  on 
the  rounded  side. 

Means  of  control 

Late  fall  plowing  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  autumn  plants. 
Pull  or  cut  all  flowering  stalks  before  the  first  seeds  ripen. 

VIRGINIA   STICKSEED 
Ldppula  virginidna,  Greene 

Other  English  names:   Beggar's  Lice,  Beggar's  Ticks. 
Native.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 


BORAGINACEAE  (BORAGE  FAMILY)  335 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  August. 
Seed  time:  July  to  September. 

Range:  New  Brunswick  to  western  Ontario  and  Minnesota,  south- 
ward to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
Habitat:   Upland  brushy  pastures,  thickets,  borders  of  woods. 

Sheep  are  the  animals  most  likely  to 
be  grazing  where  this  weed  grows,  and  it 
is  most  damaging  to  their  fleeces.  Stems 
slender,  two  to  four  feet  tall,  branching 
at  the  top  into  a  widely  divergent 
panicle.  The  root-leaves  are  roundish 
ovate  to  heart-shaped,  with  long,  slender 
petioles;  these  die  away  before  the 
coming  of  the  fruiting  stalk  in  the 
second  year;  stem-leaves  oblong-ovate 
to  oval,  pointed  at  base  and  tip,  the 
lower  ones  petioled,  the  upper  ones  ses- 
sile, softly  hairy  on  both  sides.  Racemes 
long,  very  slender,  swung  out  almost  hori- 
zontally ;  corolla  bluish  or  nearly  white, 
minute,  its  five  lobes  spread  salver-form, 
the  five  stamens  included  in  its  tube. 
Burs  globose,  the  four  nutlets  covered  FIG.  232.  —  Virginia  Stick- 
on  margin  and  back  with  fine,  barbed  seed  (Lappula.  virginiana). 
prickles.  (Fig.  232.) 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Lappula  echinata. 

MANY-FLOWERED   STICKSEED 

Ldppula  floribunda,  Greene 

Other  English  names :  Western  Sheep-bur,  Western  Stickseed,  Large- 
flowered  Stickseed. 

Native.     Biennial  or  perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   June  to  August. 

Seed  time:  July  to  September. 

Range:  Ontario  and  Minnesota  to  the  Saskatchewan  and  British 
Columbia,  southward  to  New  Mexico  and  California. 

Habitat:  Plains,  upland  pastures. 

Stems  two  to  five  feet  tall,  stout,  erect,  branching  into  a  large 
panicle   at   top.     Leaves   rough-hairy   on   both   sides,    oblong  to 


336 


BORAGINACEAE  (BORAGE  FAMILY] 


narrow  lance-shaped,  two  to  four  inches  long,  the  lower  ones  taper- 
ing to  margined  petioles,  the  upper  ones  sessile.  Racemes  long, 
ascending,  many-flowered,  usually  in  pairs  ;  corolla  blue,  more 
than  a  quarter-inch  broad,  the  five  lobes  spreading;  pedicels 
nearly  as  long  as  the  flower,  reflexed  in  fruit.  Burs  about  a  quarter- 
inch  long,  the  four  nutlets  keeled,  margined  with  a  single  row  of 
flattened,  awl-like,  barbed  prickles. 
Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Ldppula  echinata. 


termedia).     x  1. 


YELLOW  BURWEED 
Amsinckia  intermedia,  F.  and  M. 

Other  English  names:  Yellow  Tarweed, 
Fireweed,  Yellow  Forget-me-not. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  May  to  July. 

Seed-time:   June  to  August. 

Range:    Pacific  Coast. 

Habitat:  Grain  fields,  meadows,  pastures, 
and  vineyards. 


An  unpleasant,  hairy  weed,  with  sticky, 
bristly  burs  which  make  it  a  pest  to  Cali- 
fornia wool-growers.  Stem  erect,  clothed 
with  stiff  white  bristles,  one  to  three  feet 
high,  with  spreading  branches.  Leaves 
rather  thick,  lance-shaped  to  linear,  en- 
tire, and  thickly  covered  with  fine,  bristly 
hairs  much  shorter  than  those  on  the 
stem.  Flowers  in  crowded,  terminal, 
leafy-bracted  racemes  which  lengthen  as 
the  succession  of  bloom  approaches  the 
summit  ;  when  developed,  the  racemes  may 
be  five  to  ten  inches  long,  peduncled,  and 
have  usually  matured  seeds  at  the  base 
before  the  latest  buds  are  unfolded.  Co- 
rolla orange-yellow,  about  a  quarter-inch 
broad,  its  five  lobes  spread  salver-form, 

and   the   tube   encl°Sed   for   ab°Ut   half   itS 
length  in  a  bristly  calyx  with  very  narrow, 


BORAGINACEAE  (BORAGE  FAMILY)  337 

pointed  lobes.  The  stiff  bristles  on  the  calyx  enable  it  to  cling 
to  clothing  and  the  coats  of  animals,  particularly  sheep,  and 
the  seeds  which  it  encloses  are  largely  so  distributed.  These 
are  four  incurved  nutlets,  keeled  on  the  back,  rough,  wrinkled, 
and  about  a  tenth  of  an  inch  long.  (Fig.  233.) 

Means  of  control 

When  grain  is  but  a  few  inches  high  and  the  soil  is  moist,  the 
weed-seedlings  should  be  raked  out  of  it  with  a  weeding  harrow. 
Badly  infested  meadows  should  be  cleansed  by  a  short  rotation 
containing  a  well-tilled  hoed  crop. 

COMFREY 
Symphytum  officindle,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Healing-herb,  Knit-back,  Backwort,  Bruise- 
wort,  Slippery-root,  Asses'  Ears. 
Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 
Seed-time:  August  to  October. 

Range:  Newfoundland  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  Maryland. 
Habitat:   Moist  meadows,  along  ditches,  and  in  waste  places. 

Comfrey  was  brought  to  this  country  by  the  early  settlers  be- 
cause of  its  healing  virtues,  and  is  an  escape  from  the  "  Garden  of 
Simples."  The  root  is  spindle-shaped,  thick,  fleshy,  mucilaginous, 
covered  with  thin,  black  bark ;  it  is  still  valued  medicinally,  and, 
when  collected  in  late  autumn,  sliced  lengthwise,  and  dried,  is 
worth  six  to  eight  cents  a  pound  in  the  drug  market.  (Fig.  234.) 

Stems  one  to  three  feet  high,  branching,  Hairy.  Lower  leaves 
long  ovate  to  lance-shaped,  thick,  rough,  net-veined,  hairy  on 
both  sides,  narrowing  at  base  to  margined  petioles ;  upper  leaves 
decurrent  on  the  stem  in  long,  wedge-shaped  wings.  Flowers  in 
curving  terminal  racemes,  yellowish  white,  sometimes  light  purple ; 
corolla  a  little  more  than  a  half-inch  long,  the  tube  somewhat 
dilated,  the  throat  crested  below  the  lobes  which  are  very  short 
and  spreading ;  five  stamens  inserted  on  the  tube  and  included ; 
calyx  with  five  lance-shaped  segments,  acute,  rough,  hairy. 
Nutlets  about  one-sixth  of  an  inch  long,  ovoid,  brown,  shining, 
nearly  smooth,  the  base  concave  and  toothed. 


338 


BORAG1NACEAE  (BORAGE  FAMILY) 


Means  of  control 

Deep  cutting,  well  below  the  crown,  before  the  first  flowers 
mature.  Dormant  seeds  may  furnish  a  young  crop,  but  these 
plants  are  easily  pulled  while  the  taproot  is  small. 


IG.  234.  —  Comfrey   (Symphytum   offici- 
nale).     X  J . 


FIG.  235.  — Small 
Bugloss  (Lycopsis  arven- 
sis).  X  \. 


SMALL   BUGLOSS 
Lycopsis  arvensis,  L. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range:    Quebec  to  western  Ontario  and  Minnesota,  southward  to 

Virginia. 
Habitat :   Dry  or  sandy  soil ;   fields  and  waste  places. 

Stems  six  to  eighteen  inches  high,  slender,  bristly-hairy,  many- 
branched,  the  branches  procumbent.     Leaves  one  to  two  inches 


BORAGINACEAE  (BORAGE  FAMILY)  339 

long,  narrow  oblong  to  lance-shaped,  obtuse,  slightly  wavy-edged, 
bristly-hairy,  sessile  or  the  lower  ones  narrowing  to  short,  margined 
petioles.  Flowers  in  terminal,  leafy-bracted,  curving  racemes, 
numerous,  crowded,  the  corolla-tubes  curved,  less  than  a  quarter- 
inch  long,  with  five  spreading  lobes,  pale  blue;  the  five  included 
stamens  inserted  on  the  tube,  the  throat  closed  with  bristly  scales ; 
calyx-lobes,  acute,  nearly  as  long  as  the  corolla-tube.  The  four 
tiny  nutlets  rough-wrinkled,  erect,  with  concave  base.  (Fig.  235.) 

Means  of  control 

Prompt  cutting  at  the  beginning  of  bloom,  preventing  all  seed 
production. 

WHEAT-THIEF 

Lithospermum  arvense,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Stoneseed,  Field  Gromwell,  Corn  Gromwell, 

Redroot,  Pigeonweed,  Bastard  Alkanet. 
Introduced.     Annual  or  biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:    Early  May  to  August. 
Seed  time :  July  to  September. 
Range:    Quebec  to  Ontario  and  Michigan,  southward  to  Georgia 

and  Kansas. 
Habitat:   Grain  and  clover  fields,  meadows,  waste  places. 

An  early  immigrant  from  Europe,  probably  coming  with  the  first 
seed-wheat.  Once  in  the  soil  it  was  safe  to  stay,  for  the  hard 
seeds  retain  their  vitality  for  many  years.  Root  red,  thickish, 
rather  deep,  fringed  with  spreading,  fibrous  rootlets.  Stem  six  to 
eighteen  inches  high,  slender,  branching,  finely  hairy.  Alternate 
leaves  a  half-inch  to  two  inches  long,  linear  to  lance-shaped,  light 
green,  entire,  sessile  or  the  lowest  with  short  petioles,  hairy  on 
both  sides.  Flowers  sessile  or  very  nearly  so  in  the  upper  axils ; 
corolla  cream-white,  funnel-form,  five-lobed,  about  a  quarter-inch 
long,  scarcely  exceeding  the  hairy  calyx,  and  having  five  stamens 
included  in  its  tube.  The  spikes  at  first  appear  crowded  but  be- 
come distant  with  the  succession  of  bloom,  which  is  so  long  that 
ripe  nutlets  are  dropping  from  the  base  while  buds  are  yet  develop- 
ing at  the  top ;  the  earlier  fruits  fall  before  the  accompanying  crop 
is  ready  for  harvest.  Nutlets  about  a  tenth  of  an  inch  long,  dull 


340  BORAGINACEAE  (BORAGE  FAMILY) 

brownish  gray,  wrinkled,  pitted,  and  hard  as 
stone,  whence  one  of  the  common  names ;  they 
are  a  common  impurity  of  poorly  cleaned  wheat 
and  rye,  and  also  of  timothy  and  alsike  clover. 
(Fig.  236.) 

Means  of  control 

Sow  clean  seed.  Where  the  appearance  is 
new  and  the  areas  small  enough  to  permit  of 
hand-pulling,  that  operation  pays  because  it 
saves  the  soil  from  befoulment.  Spray  infested 
grain  fields  with  Iron  sulfate  or  Copper  sulfate 
when  the  first  blossoms  appear.  Burn  over 
stubbles  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  seeds 
on  the  surface.  Drop  winter  wheat  and  rye 

TTTU  I?;i?r36'/r~  from  the  rotation   until   a  cultivated   crop   has 
Wheat-thief      (Li-    ,  ,        ,        ,     „  ,  . 

thospermum  ar-  been   grown   on   the   land    for    the   purpose   ot 
Dense),    x  i.  stirring  dormant  seeds  into  growth. 


COMMON   GROMWELL 

Lithospermum  officinale,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Pearl  Plant,  Graymile,  Littlewale. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   May  to  August. 

Seed-time:  July  to  September. 

Range:    Quebec  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  New  Jersey. 

Habitat:   Fields,  pastures,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

Cattle  refuse  to  eat  these  rough-hairy  plants,  though  people  are 
said  to  have  used  the  leaves  as  a  substitute  for  tea  in  Revolution- 
ary times.  Root  deep-boring,  pinkish  white,  spindle-shaped. 
Stems  one  to  three  feet  high,  erect,  much  branched,  and  leafy  to 
the  summit.  Leaves  broadly  lance-shaped,  pointed  at  both  ends, 
rough-hairy  above,  downy  underneath,  entire,  and  sessile. 
Flowers  cream-colored  or  greenish  white,  very  small,  on  very  short 
pedicels  in  the  upper  axils ;  corolla  funnel -form,  five-lobed,  with 
five  hairy  crests  in  the  throat ;  calyx  rough-hairy,  with  narrow, 


BORAGINACEAE  (BORAGE  FAMILY)  341 

acute  segments,  nearly  as  long  as  the  corolla.  The  four  nutlets 
each  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  long,  ovoid,  smooth,  shining, 
pearl-white. 

Means  of  control 

Deep  cutting  while  in  first  bloom.  If  the  root  is  merely  shaved 
at  the  surface  it  sprouts  again,  but  when  cut  well  below  the  crown 
it  dies.  Badly  infested  ground  is  best  treated  by  putting  to  a 
well-tilled  hoed  crop. 

HOARY   PUCCOON 

Lithospermum  canescens,  Lehm. 

Other  English  names:   Paint  Plant,  Gray  Gromwell. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   April  to  June. 

Seed  time:   June  to  August. 

Range:  Ontario  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  southward  to  Vir- 
ginia, Alabama,  and  Arizona. 

Habitat :  Dry  soil ;  prairies ;  fields,  meadows,  pastures,  waste 
places. 

The  thick,  deep-boring,  red  root  of  this  plant  yields  a  red  stain 
or  dye;  the  Indians  used  it  for  decorating  their  naked  bodies, 
before  battle  or  on  ceremonial  occasions,  and  they  called  all  plants 
from  which  they  obtained  such  juices  Puccoon.  In  grain  fields 
it  is  even  more  obnoxious  than  the  Wheat-thief,  because  it  is 
perennial,  and  its  hard,  pearl-like  seeds  are  possessed  of  exceedingly 
long  vitality. 

Stems  six  to  fifteen  inches  high,  simple  or  branched  at  the  top, 
covered  with  fine,  grayish,  appressed  hairs,  particularly  when 
young.  Leaves  one-half  inch  to  nearly  two  inches  in  length, 
oblong  to  linear,  obtuse,  appressed  hairy  above,  downy  beneath, 
entire,  sessile.  Flowers  sessile  in  the  upper  axils,  the  ends  of  the 
branches  forming  dense  spikes,  usually  curved;  corolla  about  a 
half-inch  long,  deep  orange,  the  five  lobes  spread  salver-form,  the 
tube  of  a  lighter  yellow  and  longer  than  the  hairy  calyx.  Nutlets 
about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  long,  ovoid,  pointed,  keeled,  smooth, 
and  lustrous  pearl-white. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  Common  Gromwell. 


342 


BORAGINACEAE  (BORAGE  FAMILY) 


VIPER'S   BUGLOSS 
Echium  vulgare,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Blueweed,  Blue  Devil,  Blue  Thistle,  Viper's 

Herb,  Snake  Flower. 

Introduced.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   June  to  September. 
Seed-time:  August  to  November. 
Range:    New  Brunswick  to  Ontario  and  Nebraska,  southward  to 

Georgia. 
Habitat:   Fields,  meadows,  pastures,  waste  places. 

In  Australia  this  weed  is  known  as  "Paterson's  Curse,"  from 
the  settler  who  unwittingly  introduced  it,  and  it  is  "proclaimed" 
by  the  state,  to  the  end  that  all  men's 
hands  may  be  turned  against  it.  (Fig.  237.) 
First-year  leaves  tufted,  linear  oblong  to 
lance-shaped,  three  to  six  inches  long, 
entire,  bristly  hairy  on  both  sides,  crown- 
ing a  thick,  dark  taproot  which  bores  into 
the  soil  often  to  the  depth  of  more  than 
a  foot.  Flowering  stalks  appear  in  the 
second  season,  one  to  two  feet  high,  erect, 
slender,  bristly,  the  bristles  springing  from 
fine,  red  tubercles  which  speck  the  stem; 
on  the  leaves  these  prominent  specks  are 
pale  green ;  when  near  maturity  the  bristly 
hairs  harden  into  prickles,  which  come  away 
as  readily  as  cactus  spines,  making  the 
weed  a  most  vicious  thing  to  handle. 
Flower-spike  compound,  formed  of  many 
small,  one-sided,  curving  spikelets  springing 
from  the  upper  axils ;  calyx  five-toothed, 
bristly;  corolla  a  half-inch  or  more  long, 
irregular  funnel-form,  unequally  five-lobed, 
pink  in  the  bud,  violet-blue  when  fully 
open,  withering  to  a  deep  purple ;  the  five 
stamens  are  unequal,  the  longer  ones  exserted  and  all  have  red 
anthers.  Nutlets  small,  three-angled,  wrinkled,  of  very  long 
vitality,  and  too  often  an  impurity  among  other  seeds. 


.per's 


FIG.  237. —  V 
Bugloss  (Echium  vulgare) . 

x  J. 


V  ERB  EN  ACE  AE  (VERVAIN  FAMILY)  343 

Means  of  control 

In  meadows  and  pastures,  spudding  or  hoe-cutting  first-year 
leaf  tufts  from  their  roots  in  autumn  or  early  spring.  Overlooked 
plants  that  produce  flowering  stalks  the  next  season  should  be  cut 
close  to  the  ground  before  any  seed  matures.  Cultivation  of  the 
ground  destroys  the  weed  if  no  seeds  are  in  the  soil. 

EUROPEAN   VERVAIN 
Verbena  officinalis,  L. 

Other  English  names :  Holy  herb,  Herb-of-the-Cross,  Simpler's  Joy, 

Enchanter's  Plant. 

Introduced.     Annual.  •  Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  June  to  September. 
Seed-time:  July  to  November. 
Range:    New  England  and  Middle  Atlantic  States,  southward  to 

Florida  and  Texas.     Also  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 
Habitat:   Fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

An  escape  from  gardens  that  has  become  a  troublesome  weed 
in  many  places.  Stem  one  to  three  feet  tall,  smooth,  four-sided, 
slender,  branched  and  spreading.  Leaves  opposite,  oblong  lance- 
shaped  in  outline  but  pinnatifid,  the  lower  ones  tapering  to  mar- 
gined petioles ;  upper  ones  becoming  nearly  or  quite  entire  and 
sessile.  Flowers  purple,  very  small,  on  slender,  bracted,  thread- 
like spikes  often  four  or  five  inches  long ;  corollas  tubular,  the  five 
lobes  spreading  salver-form ;  stamens  four,  in  two  pairs  of  unequal 
length,  included ;  calyx  five-toothed,  enclosing  the  fruit,  which,  as 
in  all  the  Vervains,  splits  into  four  very  small,  hard  nutlets. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production  by  close  cutting  or  pulling  while  the 
plant  is  in  early  bloom. 

WHITE  VERVAIN 
Verbena  urticoefblia,  L. 

Other  English  name :   Nettle-leaved  Vervain. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   June  to  September. 


344  VERBENACEAE  (VERVAIN  FAMILY) 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range:  New  Brunswick  to   Minnesota,  southward  to  Florida  and 

Texas. 
Habitat:  Fields,  meadows,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

Seeds  of  this  plant  are  said  to  retain  their  vitality  for  several 
years,  and  they  are  too  often  an  impurity  of  poorly  cleaned  clover 
and  grass  seed.  Stem  three  to  five  feet  in  height,  slender,  four- 
sided,  finely  rough-hairy  or  sometimes  smooth,  with  ascending 
branches.  Leaves  opposite,  thin,  oblong  ovate,  long-pointed, 
coarsely  toothed,  with  short,  grooved  petioles ;  they  are  often 
splotched  or  covered  with  a  white  mildew  fungus,  which  makes 
the  weed  most  unsightly  and  a  menace  to  better  plants.  Spikes 
loosely  panicled,  very  long,  slender,  numerous,  set  very  sparsely 
with  tiny,  white  flowers,  of  which  only  a  few  are  open  at  a  time 
and  these  are  hardly  noticeable.  Nutlets  soon  fall  after  ripening. 

Means  of  control 

Small  areas  may  be  grubbed  out  or  hand-pulled  when  the  ground 
is  soft;  but  land  badly  infested  with  this  weed  should  be  put 
under  cultivation  for  a  short  rotation,  in  order  that  its  perennial 
roots  and  dormant  seeds  may  be  cleaned  from  the  soil. 


BLUE  VERVAIN 
Verbena  hastata,  L. 

Gther  English  names:  Wild  Hyssop,  Simpler's  Joy. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range:    Nova  Scotia  to  British  Columbia,  southward  to  Florida 

and  New  Mexico. 
Habitat:   Moist  meadows,  fields,  and  waste  places. 

A  conspicuous  plant  because  of  the  deep  violet  color  of  its 
panicled  spikes  of  flowers.  Stem  three  to  seven  feet  tall,  erect, 
square,  finely  rough-hairy,  coarsely  grooved,  and  branching  near 
the  top.  Leaves  oblong  lance-shaped,  long-pointed,  the  lower 
ones  often  halberd-shaped  at  base,  finely  rough-hairy,  double- 
toothed,  darker  above  than  below,  with  heavy  veins  and  short, 


VERBENACEAE  (VERVAIN  FAMILY) 


346 


grooved  petioles.  Spikes  numerous,  very 
slender,  the  small,  five-lobed,  tubular  flowers 
sometimes  scattered  along  their  length  but 
usually  grouped  in  a  short  circlet  with  a 
green  stretch  of  buds  above  and  another  of 
growing  and  ripening  fruits  below.  The 
small,  brown  nutlets  usually  drop  from  the 
stalk,  calyx  and  all,  without  separating. 
They  are  a  frequent  impurity  in  clover  and 
grass  seeds. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  White 
Vervain. 

LARGE-BRACTED   VERVAIN 

Verbena  bractedsa,  Michx. 

Native.     Annual  or  perennial.     Propagates 

by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:    May  to  July.  FlG  238.  —  Blue  Ver- 

Seed-time <:    June  to  August.  vain   (Verbena  hastata). 

Range:     Minnesota    to    British     Columbia,    x  i 

southward    to    Georgia,    Florida,    Texas, 

and  California. 
Habitat:  Plains  and  prairies ;  grasslands,  waste  places. 

Stems  numerously  branched  from  the  base,  some  prostrate  and 
some  ascending,  very  slender,  four-sided,  rough-hairy,  six  to 
fifteen  inches  long.  Leaves  broadly  wedge-shaped  in  outline  but 
pinnatifid,  the  lobes  cut  and  toothed,  the  basal  pair  spreading  and 
narrowing  abruptly  to  short,  margined  petioles.  Spikes  single, 
the  blossoms  being  scattered  somewhat  remotely  along  each  spike 
and  having  the  hairy  bracts  subtending  the  flowers  very  long 
and  stiff,  the  lower  ones  pinnatifid,  nearly  concealing  the  small, 
purplish  blue  corollas.  Each  plant  produces  many  of  the  little 
nutlets  which  foul  the  soil  worse  than  other  species  because  of 
their  earlier  maturity.  Seed-bearing  plants  are  often  transported 
in  baled  hay,  and  the  weed  has  of  recent  years  been  thus  intro- 
duced in  a  number  of  widely  separated  localities  in  the  northeastern 
part  of  the  country. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  V.  stricta. 


346  LABI  AT AE  (MINT  FAMILY) 

HOARY  VERVAIN 

Verbena  stricta,  Vent. 

Other  English  names :  Woolly  Vervain,  Mullen-leaved  Vervain. 
Native.    Perennial.    Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:    June  to  September. 
Seed-time:    August  to  November. 

Range:    Ontario  to  Minnesota  and  Wyoming,  southward  to  Ten- 
nessee, Texas,  and  New  Mexico. 
Habitat:   Dry  plains  and  prairies. 

The  range  of  this  plant  is  increasing,  mostly  by  the  agencies  of 
impure  seed  and  baled  hay.  Stem  ten  to  thirty  inches  tall,  rather 
stout,  obtusely  four-angled,  erect,  simple  or  with  a  few  branches 
above.  Leaves  ovate,  pointed  or  sometimes  obtuse,  double- 
toothed,  sessile  or  the  lower  ones  with  short  petioles ;  the  whole 
plant  clothed  with  fine,  white-woolly  hair.  Spikes  very  dense, 
rather  stout,  usually  solitary  but  sometimes  several  in  a  panicle, 
becoming  six  inches  to  a  foot  in  length  when  fruiting ;  corolla 
purple,  large  for  a  Vervain,  being  more  than  a  quarter-inch  long 
and  the  five  spreading  lobes  about  as  broad.  Its  dense  flowering 
habit  makes  the  plant  very  productive. 

Means  of  control 

Only  by  a  short  rotation  of  cultivated  crops  is  it  practicable  to 
rid  the  ground  of  the  perennial  roots  and  the  dormant  seeds  of 
this  weed. 

CREEPING   BUGLEWEED 
Ajuga  reptans,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Carpenter's  Herb,  Sicklewort,  Brown  Bugle. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  stolons. 

Time  of  bloom :  May  to  July. 

Seed-time:  June  to  August. 

Range :  Eastern  Canada  and  New  England  to  southern  New  York. 

Habitat:   Fields  and  waste  places. 

This  plant  is  a  member  of  the  Mint  Family  which  have  in 
common  the  characteristics  of  square  stems,  opposite  leaves, 
corollas  more  or  less  two-lipped,  stamens  four  in  unequal  pairs. 


LABI  AT AE  (MINT  FAMILY) 


347 


or  sometimes  only  two,  and  a  deeply  four-lobed 
ovary,  which  in  fruit  forms  four  tiny  nutlets 
or  achenes  surrounding  the  base  of  a  single 
style  in  the  bottom  of  a  persistent  calyx. 
(Fig.  239.) 

Stems  rather  stout,  smooth  or  only 
slightly  hairy,  six  inches  to  a  foot  in  height. 
Root-leaves  tufted,  obovate,  rounded  at  apex, 
scallop-toothed,  tapering  to  margined  petioles ; 
stem-leaves  sessile  or  nearly  so,  rounded  or  a 
short  oval,  becoming  entire  near  the  top. 
Thrust  out  from  the  tufted  basal  leaves  are 
numerous  slender  stolons,  a  foot  or  more 
long,  which  take  root  and  form  new  plants, 
causing  the  weed  to  grow  in  patches.  Flowers, 
pale  blue  or  white,  in  axillary  clusters,  sessile, 
very  small ;  the  upper  lip  of  the  corolla  very 
short  and  cleft,  the  lower  one  three-lobed  and 
spreading ;  calyx  five-toothed.  Nutlets  rough- 
ened, and  very  small. 


Means  of  control 

FIG.      239. — 

Scattered   colonies   of   the  plant  should   be    Creeping  Bugleweed 
hoed  out  and  removed  from  the  soil,  for  if  left    (Ajugareptans). 
on  moist  ground  it  will  take  root  again.     Cultivation  of  the  soil  de- 
stroys the  weed,  and  badly  infested  ground  should  be  so  treated. 


AMERICAN   GERMANDER 
Teucrium  canadense,  L. 

Other  English  name:   Wood  Sage. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range:    New  England  to  Nebraska,  southward  to  Georgia  and 

Texas. 
Habitat :  Moist  grasslands,  roadsides,  fencerows,  banks  of  streams, 

and  waste  places. 


348 


LABIATAE  (MINT  FAMILY) 


Not  a  woodland  plant  in  spite  of  its  name.  Stem  one  to  three 
feet  high,  slender,  erect,  simple  or  with  few  branches,  covered 
with  fine,  appressed  hairs.  Leaves  long- 
ovate  to  lance-shaped,  green  above,  ap- 
pressed gray-hairy  beneath,  sharply  toothed, 
narrowing  to  short  petioles.  Flowers  in 
long,  crowded  racemes,  six  inches  to  a 
foot  in  length,  making  the  plant  con- 
spicuous when  growing  in  meadows ;  calyx 
densely  velvety-hairy,  five-toothed ;  corolla 
pink  or  rose-purple,  the  lower  lip  with  one 
large,  rounded  spreading  lobe  and  two 
small  pointed  ones ;  upper  lip  deeply  cleft, 
the  exserted  stamens  and  style  thrust  out 
between  its  lobes;  the  blossoms  are  often 
nearly  an  inch  long,  in  whorls  of  six  or 
more,  on  very  short  pedicels,  subtended  by 
leafy  bracts  about  as  long  as  the  calyx. 
Nutlets  obovoid  and  rough.  (Fig.  240.) 

Means  of  control 

FIG.   240.  —  American        if  tne  infestation  is  new,  grub  out  or 
Germander  (Teucrium     •,         ,        11    j.u         i  u         J.L  j    • 

canadense).    x  i-  hand-pull  the  plants  when  the  ground  is 

soft,    before   the  first  flowers    mature;   or 

cut  closely  and  repeatedly  during  the  growing  season,  so  as  to 
starve  the  roots  and  prevent  seed  production. 


BLUE   CURLS 
Trichostema  dichdtomum,  L. 

Other  English  name:   Bastard  Pennyroyal. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  October. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range:   Maine  to  Kentucky,  Florida,  and  Texas. 

Habitat:   Dry  soil ;   fields  and  waste  places. 

Stem  six  to  eighteen  inches  high,  slender,  stiff,  obtusely  four- 
angled,  much  branched,  finely  hairy,  and  viscid.     Leaves  oblong 


LABI  AT AE  (MINT  FAMILY) 


349 


to  lance-shaped,  pointed  at  both  ends,  finely  clammy-hairy  on 
both  sides,  entire,  with  very  short  petioles.  Panicles  loosely 
spreading,  the  flowers  single  or  in  pairs 
on  forking  branchlets,  subtended  by  paired 
bracts ;  the  flowers  are  blue,  sometimes 
pink  or  white,  their  most  noticeable  feature 
being  the  four  very  long,  upcurving,  violet 
stamens,  thrust  far  out  beyond  the  corolla  — 
more  than  as  long  again ;  in  the  bud  they 
are  spirally  coiled  and  both  the  common 
name  and  the  "book-name"  have  reference 
to  their  remarkable  appearance;  corolla 
tube  very  slender,  its  lower  lobe  oblong 
and  declined;  calyx  unequal,  with  three 
long  and  two  short  lobes,  and  when  the 
withered  corolla  falls  the  four  small,  rough- 
ened, ovoid  nutlets  are  in  plain  sight. 
(Fig.  241.) 

Means  of  control 

Enrich  the  land;  when  cultivated  and 
supplied  with  humus,  which  will  enable  FIG.  241.  — Blue 
the  soil  to  retain  moisture,  the  drought-  Curls  (Trichostema  dicho- 
.  .  ,  .,,  j.  tomum).  X$. 

loving  weed  will  disappear. 


HOREHOUND 
Marriibium  vulgare,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Marrube,  Houndsbene,  Marvel. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range :  Maine  and  Ontario  to  South  Carolina,  Tennessee,  and  Texas. 

British  Columbia  to  California. 
Habitat:   Dry  soil ;   upland  fields  and  pastures. 

A  most  troublesome  weed  where  sheep  are  kept,  for  the  long 
points  of  the  calyx-lobes  harden  into  hooked  spines  which  catch 
in  the  fleeces  to  the  detriment  of  the  latter  and  which  also  help 


350 


LABIATAE  (MINT  FAMILY) 


to  distribute  the  seed.  In  this  way  many  of  the  mountain  pas- 
tures of  the  Pacific  Coast  have  been  so  overrun  with  this  weed  as 
to  crowd  out  all  other  growth.  The  taste  is  biting  and  persistently 
bitter,  and  no  animal  will  eat  the  herb. 

The  plant  is  used  in  medicine  as  a  cough  remedy  and  more 
than  a  quarter-million  pounds  of  the  dried  herb  are  annually  im- 
ported from  Europe.  The  parts  used 
are  the  leaves  and  the  flowering  tops, 
collected  just  before  the  buds  open 
and  quickly  dried  in  the  shade.  The 
price  is  two  or  three  cents  a  pound. 

Stem  one  to  two  feet  high,  stout, 
erect,  square,  white-woolly,  branching 
and  bushy.  Leaves  opposite,  broadly 
oval  or  rounded,  with  scalloped  edges, 
wrinkled  and  rough-hairy  above,  white- 
woolly  below,  with  large  veins  and 
short,  stout  petioles.  Flowers  nearly 
white,  in  dense  axillary  whorls,  the 
upper  lip  of  the  small,  tubular  corolla 
notched,  the  lower  one  three-lobed  and 
spreading ;  stamens  included ;  calyx 
white-woolly,  with  ten  awl-like,  re- 
curved teeth,  the  alternate  ones  shorter. 
Nutlets  ovoid  and  smooth.  (Fig. 
242.) 


FIG.  242.  —  Common  Hore- 
hound     (Marrubium     vulgar  e) . 

xi. 


Means  of  control 

Frequent  and  close  cutting  before  seed  development ;  or,  if  the 
colonies  are  not  too  large,  removal  by  hoe-cutting.  If  the  ground 
is  fit  for  cultivated  crops,  the  necessary  tillage  promptly  destroys 
the  weed. 

CATNIP   OR   CATMINT 
Nepeta  Catdria,  L. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   June  to  September. 
Seed-time:  July  to  November. 


LABI AT AE  (MINT  FAMILY) 


351 


Range:   New  Brunswick  and  Quebec  to  Minnesota,  southward  to 

Georgia  and  Kansas. 
Habitat:   Roadsides,  neglected  farmyards,  waste  places. 

This  herb  was  formerly  much  used  as  a  tonic  and  home  remedy 
for  disordered  nerves.  It  is  still  quoted  in  the  drug  market  at 
three  to  eight  cents  a  pound,  the  leaves  and  the  flowering  tops 
being  the  parts  used,  collected  when  in 
full  flower. 

Stem  one  to  three  feet  high,  erect, 
rather  stout,  square,  downy-hairy,  and 
much  branched.  Leaves  opposite,  ovate 
or  oblong  heart-shaped,  light  green  above, 
downy  beneath,  deeply  scallop-toothed, 
with  slender  petioles.  Flowers  in  termi- 
nal spikes  one  to  four  inches  long,  sub- 
tended by  small,  narrow  bracts ;  corolla 
pale  lilac  or  white,  with  pale  purple 
dots,  the  tube  dilated  in  the  throat  and 
the  broad  middle  lobe  of  the  lower  lip 
finely  scalloped  ;  the  stamens  ascending  J^Ej*  |  ^S* 
under  the  upper  lip,  the  lower  pair  the  f 

shorter ;  calyx  downy,  five-toothed,  per- 
sistent, containing  the  four  nutlets,  which 
are  ovoid,  slightly  flattened,  smooth,  and 
brown.  (Fig.  243.) 

Means  of  control 


T 

FIG.  243.  —  Catnip   or 
Catmint     (Nepeta     Caiarid). 

xi. 


Cats  are  very  fond  of  the  plant  and  a  few  stalks  grown  for  the 
family  pet  may  be  welcome ;  but  patches  of  the  weed  about  farm- 
yards make  a  slovenly  appearance  and  should  be  grubbed  out. 
Roadside  and  waste-land  growth  should  be  cut  when  beginning  to 
bloom. 

GROUND   IVY 
Nepeta  hederacea,  Trevisan 

Other  English  names:    Field  Balm,  Gill-over-t he-Ground,  Gill-ale, 

Ale-hoof,  Cat's  Foot. 
Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 


352  LABI  AT AE  (MINT  FAMILY) 

Time  of  bloom :  April  to  July. 

Seed-time:   Late  May  to  August. 

Range:    Newfoundland  to  Ontario  and  Minnesota,  southward  to 

Georgia  and  Kansas. 
Habitat :   Moist  or  shady  soil ;   lawns  and  yards,  waste  places. 

In  old  days,  before  the  hop  took  its  place,  this  plant  was  used 
for  flavoring  and  clarifying  the  home-brewed  ale.  Like  the  Plan- 
tain, it  seems  almost  domesticated  and  is  a  familiar  weed  about 
dwellings  and  in  towns. 

Stems  slender,  prostrate,  and  creeping,  with  many  small,  ascend- 
ing branches,  very  leafy,  three  to  five  inches  high.  Leaves  rounded 
or  kidney-shaped,  scallop-toothed,  green  on  both  sides,  with  slender 
petioles.  Flowers  in  small  axillary  clusters,  pale  purple,  spotted 
with  deeper  purple;  corolla  about  a  half-inch  long,  its  upper  lip 
with  two  lobes,  three  lobes  in  the  lower  lip,  the  upper  pair  of 
stamens  nearly  twice  the  length  of  the  lower  ones,  rising  against 
the  upper  lip ;  the  tube  more  than  twice  the  length  of  the  five- 
lobed,  hairy  calyx.  The  four  small  nutlets  ovoid  and  brown. 

Means  of  control 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  dig  out  this  weed  and  get  all  of  the 
slender,  creeping  rootstocks.  If  the  infested  ground  is  a  lawn  the 
surest  method  is  to  skin  off  the  rather  shallow  layer  that  contains 
the  roots  and  probably  also  a  good  supply  of  the  seeds,  and  relay 
with  new  sod  or  sow  with  clean  seed. 


HEAL-ALL 

Prunella  vulgaris,  L. 

Other   English   names:    Self-heal,   Hock-heal,   Heart-of-the-Earth, 

Carpenter's  Herb,  Sicklewort. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rooting  at  the 

nodes. 

Time  of  bloom :  May  to  October. 
Seed-time:   June  to  November. 

Range :  Nearly  all  parts  of  the  world.     Native  to  Europe  and  Asia. 
Habitat :   Fields,  lawns  and  yards,  open  woods,  and  waste  places. 

A  frequent  pest  in  lawns,  stooling  out  when  beheaded  by  the 


LABI  AT  AE  (MINT  FAMILY) 


353 


lawn-mower  and  sometimes   taking  complete  possession  of  the 

sward.     It  adapts  itself  to  circumstances,  fruiting  when  not  more 

than  two  inches  high  or  sometimes  attaining  to  more  than  a  foot, 

the  square,  grooved  stem  sometimes  erect  or  ascending,  or  often 

prostrate.     Leaves  long  ovate,  approaching  to  lance-shaped,  obtuse, 

entire  or  with  shallow  scalloped  edges,  usually  smooth  or  sometimes 

sparsely  hairy,  narrowing  to  short  petioles.     Flowers  in  densely 

packed    terminal    and    axillary    spikes, 

clustered  in  threes  in  the  axils  of  mem- 

branaceous,   veined,   and  hairy   bracts  ; 

the  blossoms  are  in  various  shades  of 

purple,  some  very  deep  in  color,  others 

so  pale  as  to  be  nearly  white;   corolla 

tubular,  with    a    lengthened   upper    lip 

which  is  arched  into  a  hood,  into  which 

the  longer  of  the  two  pairs  of  stamens 

ascend  ;    the  lower  lip  three-lobed  and 

spreading  ;  calyx  also  two-lipped,  closed 

in  fruit,  the  upper  lip  truncate  or  with 

three   short   teeth,  the  lower  one  two- 

cleft    and    pointed.     Seeds   four    small, 

ovoid  nutlets,   which  are  ripening  and 

dropping  all  summer.     (Fig.  244.) 

Means  of  control 

T      c  u       i  i       i  -ii   j    u        FIG-    244.  —  Heal-all    (Pru- 

In  fields  the  weed  may  be  killed  by          neHa  vuigaris)f    x  i. 

frequent    hoe-cutting.      While   treating 

a  border  with  Iron  sulfate  in  order  to  kill  Chickweed,  the 
writer  discovered  that  the  Heal-all  succumbed  quite  as  readily 
to  its  blight,  the  leaves  blackening  and  falling  off,  while  the  buds 
ceased  to  grow  and  in  a  few  days  rotted  ;  without  leaf-growth  the 
roots  cannot  survive,  and  therefore  Prunella  can  be  driven  from  the 
lawns  by  repeated  sprayings  without  injury  to  the  grass.  The 
solution  used  was  somewhat  strong  —  about  eight  per  cent  —  but 
grasses  readily  recover  from  much  stronger  "  doses  "  of  this 
chemical  ;  and  the  beauty  of  the  sward  can  afford  to  endure 
temporary  injury  for  the  sake  of  relief  from  such  company. 
2A 


354 


LABI  AT AE  (MINT  FAMILY) 


HEMP   NETTLE 
Galeopsis  Tetrdhit,  L. 

Other  English  names :  Dog  Nettle,  Bee  Nettle,  Stinging  Nettle,  Wild 

Hemp,  Bastard  Hemp. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   June  to  August. 
Seed-time:    August  to  October. 
Range :  Newfoundland  to  British  Columbia  and  Alaska,  southward 

to  North  Carolina  and  Michigan. 
Habitat:   Fields,  pastures,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 


FIG.  245.  —  Hemp  Nettle  (Gale- 
opsis Tetrahit).     X  i- 


Grazing  cattle  shun  this  weed,  and 
gloves  are  needed  in  handling  it  when 
full-grown.  Stem  one  to  three  feet 
tall,  stout,  four-sided,  swollen  below 
the  joints,  much  branched  and  spread- 
ing, bristling  with  prickly  hairs.  The 
opposite  leaves  are  ovate,  long- 
pointed,  coarsely  toothed,  bristly- 
hairy  on  both  sides,  and  with  bristly 
petioles.  Flowers  in  a  dense,  short, 
leafy-bracted  terminal  spike  and  in 
axillary  clusters ;  corolla  nearly  an 
inch  long,  pink  or  pale  purple,  with  a 
stiff,  concave  entire  upper  lip,  longer 
than  the  lower  one,  which  has  three 
lobes ;  the  tube  is  about  twice  the 
length  of  the  bristly  calyx,  which  has 
five  long,  nearly  equal  awl-like  points. 
Seeds  four  small,  flattened,  ovoid 
nutlets.  (Fig.  245.) 


Means  of  control 

Prevent  reproduction  by  close  cutting  while  young.  If  nearing 
maturity  when  cut  the  weed  should  be  removed  from  the  ground, 
as  the  large,  swollen  stems  contain  enough  nutriment  to  ripen  the 
seed. 


LAB1ATAE  (MINT  FAMILY) 


355 


HENBIT 

Lamium  amplexicatile,  L. 

Other  English  names :   Dead  Nettle,  Blind  Nettle,  Bee  Nettle. 

Introduced.     Annual  or  biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  April  to  October. 

Seed-time:   May  to  November. 

Range:   New  Brunswick  to  Ontario  and  Minnesota,  southward  to 

Florida  and  Arkansas. 
Habitat:   Cultivated  ground,  waste  places. 

This  weed  flourishes  best  in  cool  weather,  dying  down  in  the 
heat  of  midsummer  but  recovering  in  autumn  and  maturing  a 
late  crop  of  seeds ;  autumn  seed- 
lings develop  fruit  very  early  in  the 
spring,  so  that  the  soil  is  fouled 
with  two  abundant  sowings  each 
year.  Stems  six  to  eighteen  inches 
long,  slender,  square,  branching 
from  the  base  and  also  from  the 
lower  axils,  weak  and  spreading 
on  the  ground.  Leaves  opposite, 
rounded,  deeply  scallop-toothed, 
sparsely  hairy,  the  lower  ones  with 
short  petioles,  the  upper  ones  ses- 
sile and  clasping.  Flowers  in  small 
axillary  and  terminal  clusters ; 
calyx  hairy,  with  five  erect,  awl- 
like  teeth  •  corolla-tube  slender, 
with  the  upper  lip  erect,  entire, 
and  bearded,  dark  red,  the  lower 
one  three-lobed,  white,  spotted 
with  purple ;  stamens  ascending 
against  the  upper  lip,  the  anterior 
pair  the  longer.  The  flowers  contain  much  nectar  and  honeybees 
are  frequent  visitors.  Seeds  four  long,  ovoid  nutlets,  dark  brown, 
specked  with  white  dots.  These  seeds  are  long-lived  and  tillage 
should  begin  early  and  be  continued  late,  in  order  to  prevent  their 
development  and  distribution.  (Fig.  246.) 


FIG. 


246.  —  Henbit    (Lamium    am- 
plexicaule).     X  1- 


356  LABI  AT AE  (MINT  FAMILY) 

Means  of  control 

For  small  areas  destruction  of  seedlings  by  hoe-cutting  in  autumn 
or  early  spring ;  in  fields  thorough  cultivation  followed  by  heavy 
seeding  with  clover,  which  will  crowd  out  the  weed. 


MOTHERWORT 
Leonurus  Cardlaca,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Llon's-tail,  Lion's-ear,  Cowthwort. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range:  Nova  Scotia  to  Minnesota  and  Nebraska,  southward  to 
North  Carolina. 

Habitat :  About  dwellings  and  in  barnyards ;  on  roadsides ;  a  fre- 
quent tenant  of  vacant  city  lots. 

One  of  the  social,  half-domesticated  weeds,  seldom  found  far 
from  men's  habitations ;  it  is  medicinally  valuable,  the  dried  leaves 
and  tops  being  worth  three  to  five  cents  a 
pound  in  the  drug  market. 

Stem  two  to  five  feet  tall,  rather  stout, 
square,  with  a  few  ascending  branches. 
Leaves  dark  green,  thin,  finely  rough-hairy ; 
the  lower  ones  rounded,  palmately  lobed, 
usually  five-pointed,  often  three  or  four 
inches  broad ;  higher  up  they  become  three- 
lobed  and  near  the  top  they  are  often  lance- 
shaped;  all  with  slender  petioles.  Flowers 
in  crowded  axillary  whorls,  pink,  pale  purple, 
or  white,  the  corolla  with  its  curving  upper 
lip  bearded  outside,  the  lower  one  three- 
lobed  and  purple-dotted  ;  stamens  ascending 
against  the  upper  lip,  the  lower  pair  the 
longer.  Calyx  hairy,  with  five  awl-like 
points  which  become  hard  and  rigid ;  each 
contains  four  small,  brown,  three-angled  nut- 
lets with  blunt  or  truncate  apex  tipped  with 
oca),  x  i  fine,  short,  bristly  hairs.  (Fig.  247.) 


LAJBIATAE  (MINT  FAMILY) 


357 


Means  of  control 

Deep  cutting  with  hoe'or  spud  before  any  seed  has  matured, 
using  dry  salt  on  the  shorn  surfaces  for  the  purpose  of  checking 
new  growth. 

HEDGE  NETTLE 

Stachys  palustris,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Roughweed,   Marsh  Woundwort,   Clown's 
Heal,  Dead  Nettle. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range :    Newfoundland  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  southward  to 
New  York,  Michigan,  and  Illinois  ; 
in  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  New 
Mexico.      Also  native  to  Europe 
and  Asia. 

Habitat:    Damp  grasslands  and  bor- 
ders of  streams. 

A  coarse  weed,  the  stem  one  to 
four  feet  tall,  stout,  erect,  square,  the 
angles  bristling  with  stiff,  downward- 
pointing  hairs.  Because  of  its  prickly 
hairiness  and  unpleasant  taste  cattle 
refuse  to  eat  the  plant  either  green  or 
cured  in  hay.  Leaves  thick,  oblong 
to  lance-shaped,  rounded  or  heart- 
shaped  at  the  base,  rough-hairy, 
coarsely  saw-toothed,  sessile  or  with 
very  short  petioles.  Flowers  in  ter- 
minal interrupted  spikes,  in  whorls 
of  six  to  ten  with  small  leafy  bracts 
below;  calyx  bristly-hairy,  its  awl- 
like  teeth  more  than  half  as  long  as 
the  tube  of  the  corolla,  which  is  more 
than  a  half-inch  in  length,  the  lips 
pink  or  pale  purple,  spotted  with 
deeper  purple;  the  upper  lip  concave  FlQ  2 4 8. -Hedge  Nettle 
and  bearded  outside,  the  unequal  (Stachys  palustris).  x  J. 


358  LABI  AT AE  (MINT  FAMILY) 

stamens  ascending  against  it,  the  lower  lip  three-lobed  and  spread- 
ing.    Seeds  small,  ovoid  nutlets.     (Fig.  248.) 

Means  of  control 

Drainage  of  the  ground ;  prevention  of  seed  development  by 
close  cutting  early  in  the  season.  Cultivation  of  the  soil  at  once 
destroys  the  perennial  roots. 

AMERICAN   PENNYROYAL 
Hededma  pulegioldes,  Pers. 

Other  English  names:    Mock  Pennyroyal,  Squaw  Mint,  Stinking 

Balm,  Mosquito  Plant,  Tickweed. 
Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 
Seed-time:  August  to  October. 
Range:   Cape  Breton  Island  to  Ontario  and  Minnesota,  southward 

to  Florida  and  Nebraska. 
Habitat:  Thin  meadows,  upland  pastures,  and  in  open  woods  about 

old  stumps. 

The  oil  distilled  from  this  herb  is  much  used  in  making  the 
"mosquito  dopes"  which  hunters  and  fishermen  and  many  other 
persons  are  obliged  to  use  in  localities  where 
mosquitoes  are  a  plague ;  the  plant  is  also  used 
medicinally  and  the  leaves  and  flowering  tops, 
collected  in  full  bloom  and  dried,  are  worth  one 
to  three  cents  a  pound.  In  taste  and  odor  the 
plant  is  very  like  the  true  Pennyroyal,  which 
is  European. 

Stem    erect,    square,    very    slender,    softly 
hairy,  much  branched,  six  inches  to  a  foot  in 
height.     Leaves  a  half-inch  to  an  inch  long, 
thin,  oblong-ovate,  sparingly  toothed,  obtuse  at 
apex,  and  narrowed  to  short  petioles.     Flowers 
in    small    axillary    clusters,    on    short,    hairy 
FIG.  249.  — Ameri-  peduncles;  calyx  hairy,  the  three  upper  teeth 
To™7£e°^oid%:  triangular,    the   two   lower   ones   awl-shaped; 
x  i.  corolla  lavender  or  pinkish,  about  a  quarter-inch 


LABI  AT AE  (MINT  FAMILY)  359 

long,  the  upper  lip  merely  notched  but  the  lower  one  three-lobed 
and  spreading ;  perfect  stamens  two,  rising  against  the  upper  lip, 
with  two  rudimentary  ones  below.  The  four  nutlets  within  the 
persistent  calyx,  very  small.  (Fig.  249.) 

Means  of  control 

Meadows  infested  with  the  plant  should  be  cut  before  the  seeds 
develop.  Cultivation  and  enrichment  of  the  soil,  where  prac- 
ticable, soon  enables  better  plants  to  crowd  out  the  weed. 

CALAMINT   OR  WILD   BASIL 

Satureja  vulgaris,  Fritsch 
(Clinopddium  vulgar  e,  L.) 

Other  English  names:  Field  Basil,  Stone  Basil,  Horse  Thyme,  Basil- 
weed. 

Native.  Perennial.  Propagates  by  seeds 
and  by  stolons. 

Time  of  bloom:  June  to  August. 

Seed-time:  August  to  October. 

Range :  Nova  Scotia  to  Manitoba,  south- 
ward to  West  Virginia,  and  in  the 
Rocky  Mountains  to  Colorado. 

Habitat :  Alluvial  banks,  brushy  upland 
pastures,  and  borders  of  woods. 

Not  even  sheep  care  to  eat  Calamint, 
and  if  the  plant  had  not  such  a  prefer- 
ence for  partial  shade  its  stoloniferous 
habit  would  make  it  a  bad  weed.  Stems 
erect,  slim,  square,  hairy,  ten  to  twenty 
inches  tall,  usually  with  a  few  branches 
but  often  simple.  Leaves  also  hairy, 
variable  in  shape  but  mostly  a  long- 
pointed  oval,  sometimes  toothed,  some- 
times entire  or  wavy-edged,  the  upper 
ones  sessile,  the  lower  ones  having  short 

petioles.    Flowers  in  dense  axillary  and 

.      ,     ,  ,    ,  _,  FIG.    250.  —  Calamint   or 

terminal  clusters,  the  latter  nearly  glob-    Wild  Basil  (Satureja  vulca- 

ular ;  the  subtending  bracts  bristly-hairy    m).    x  J. 


360  LABI  AT AE  (MINT  FAMILY) 

and  as  long  as  the  calyx,  which  is  also  hairy ;  corolla  lavender, 
pink,  or  whitish,  its  tube  not  much  exceeding  the  calyx-teeth,  the 
upper  lip  entire  or  only  slightly  notched,  the  lower  lip  three-lobed 
and  spreading ;  stamens  four,  ascending,  the  longer  pair  exserted. 
Seeds  four  small,  ovoid,  smooth  nutlets.  (Fig.  250.) 

Means  of  control 

Deep  hoe-cutting,  before  seeds  are  developed  or  stolons  take 
root. 

BUGLEWEED 

Lycdpus  virgtnicus,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Water  Horehound,  Ditch  Horehound,  Vir- 
ginia Horehound,  Buglewort,  Paul's  Betony. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  stolons. 
Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 
Seed-time:  August  to  November. 
Range:     Labrador    to    British    Columbia, 
southward    to     Florida,    Alabama,    and 
Missouri. 

Habitat :   Wet  meadows,  banks  of  streams ; 
often  clogs  ditches. 

A  common  weed,  of  which  the  most 
troublesome  part  is  the  long,  thread-like, 
leafy,  interlacing  runners,  reaching  out  in 
all  directions  from  the  parent,  sending  up 
new  plants  and  making  tangled  mats.  The 
plant  is  used  in  medicine  and  brings  three 
or  four  cents  a  pound  in  the  drug  market. 
It  would  be  some  satisfaction,  in  clearing  out 
a  ditch,  to  make  the  weed  itself  pay  for  the 
labor.  For  this  purpose  the  herb  must  be 
pulled  entire  while  in  full  flower,  and  dried 
in  the  shade. 

Stems  six  inches  to  two  feet  high,  slender, 

obtusely  four-sided,  usuallv  somewhat  hairv. 
FIG.  251.  —  Bugle-   T  ,     ,  .         ,       .  ,  ,* 

weed  (Lycopus  mrgini-  Leaves  dark  green  or  tinged  with  purple, 
cus).  x  i.  long  ovate,  firm,  coarsely  toothed,  pointed 


LAB  I  AT  AS  (MINT  FAMILY)  361 

at  both  ends,  those  near  the  base  tapering  to  short  petioles,  the 
upper  ones  sessile.  Flowers  in  dense  axillary  clusters,  pale  purple  to 
white,  the  lobes  of  the  calyx  nearly  equal,  the  corolla-tube  cylindric 
to  funnel-form,  with  four  flaring  lobes,  suggesting  the  reason  why 
the  plant  is  named  Bugleweed  ;  perfect  stamens  two,  the  posterior 
pair  being  rudimentary.  Seeds  four  small  nutlets,  three-angled, 
longer  than  the  calyx-lobes,  in  plain  view  when  mature.  (Fig.  251.) 

Means  of  control 

In  fields,  frequent  cutting,  close  to  the  ground,  while  in  early 
flower ;  or,  better,  hand-pulling,  which  often  takes  runners  and 
all.  In  ditches  the  weed  must  be  grubbed  out  or  hand-pulled. 

PEPPERMINT 
Mentha  pipertta,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Lamb  Mint,  Brandy  Mint. 

Introduced.  Perennial.  Propagates  by 
seeds  and  by  rootstoeks. 

Time  of  bloom :   June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range :  Nova  Scotia  to  Ontario  and  Minne- 
sota, southward  to  Florida  and  Tennessee. 

Habitat:  Prefers  moist  soil,  but  will  grow 
anywhere. 

Some  thousands  of  acres  in  this  country, 
particularly  in  the  states  of  New  York, 
Indiana,  and  Michigan,  are  very  profitably 
given  to  the  cultivation  of  this  plant  for  the 
distillation  of  its  oil,  which  is  used  in  flavor- 
ing confectionery,  in  cordials  and  cosmetics, 
and  also  medicinally.  But  beyond  the 
bounds  of  cultivation  the  plant  is  a  trouble- 
some weed.  A  bed  of  it  in  the  herb  garden 
is  difficult  of  restriction  within  proper  limits, 
as  the  long,  underground  suckers  are  continu- 
ally  thrustmg  up  new  plants  where  they  are  FlQ  252.  _  peppermint 
not  wanted.  (Mentha  piperita).  X  i- 


362 


LABI  AT AE  (MINT  FAMILY) 


Stems  one  to  three  feet  tall,  often  tinged  with  reddish  purple, 
smooth,  square,  erect  and  branching.  Leaves  dark  green,  lance- 
shaped,  about  half  as  wide  as  long,  sharply  toothed,  smooth  on 
both  sides  except  that  the  veins  beneath  are  slightly  hairy,  pointed 
at  tip,  rounded  or  narrowed  at  base  to  a  short  petiole.  Flowers  in 
terminal  spikes,  obtuse  at  tip,  densely  whorled  or  sometimes  in- 
terrupted, purple,  rather  showy;  calyx  smooth  at  base  but  with 
nearly  equal  hairy  teeth ;  corolla  with  upper  lip  entire  and  lower 
lip  three-lobed ;  the  four  stamens,  equal,  erect  and  included ; 
style  two-cleft  at  summit.  Nutlets  four  in  each  calyx,  ovoid  and 
smooth.  (Fig.  252.) 

Means  of  control 

A  peppermint  patch  is  about  as  difficult  to  clean  out  as  is  one 
of  Quack  Grass,  for  the  rootstocks  must  all  be  removed  from  the 
soil  or  starved  to  death.     In  the  one  case,  this  means  very  diligent 
use  of  grubbing  hoe  and  rake;    in  the  other,  such  close  and  fre- 
quent cutting  as  to  allow  no  green  leaves  to 
appear  throughout  the  growing  season. 

SPEARMINT 
Mentha  spicata,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Lamb  Mint,  Mackerel 
Mint,  Garden  Mint,  Our  Lady's  Mint,  Sage 
of  Bethlehem. 

Introduced.  Perennial.  Propagates  by  seeds 
and  by  stolons. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range:  Nova  Scotia  to  Ontario  and  Minne- 
sota, southward  to  Florida  and  Kansas. 

Habitat :  Moist  ground  ;  fields  and  waste  places. 

Like  the  preceding  species  this  mint  is  cul- 
tivated for  the  distillation  of  its  oil,  which  has 
a  milder  flavor  and  action  than  that  of  Pepper- 
mint.   Stems  ten  to  twenty  inches  high,  nearlv 
FIG.  253.  — Spear-  .,  t          t-  T 

mint    (Mentha    spi-  smooth,  erect,  square,  branching.    Leaves  lance- 

cato).    x  \.  shaped,  unequally  toothed,  the  surface  some- 


SOLANACEAE  (NIGHTSHADE  FAMILY)  363 

what  puckered  and  wrinkled,  sessile  or  with  very  short  petioles. 
Flowers  pale  purple,  in  terminal,  narrow,  pointed,  usually  inter- 
rupted spikes,  the  subtending  bracts  long-pointed  and  conspicuous ; 
calyx-teeth  equal,  smooth  or  only  slightly  hairy  and  nearly  as  long 
as  the  tube  of  the  corolla  which  is  smooth  with  upper  lip  entire 
or  sometimes  slightly  notched,  the  lower  lip  with  three  rounded 
lobes ;  stamens  all  four  of  the  same  length,  erect,  included. 
(Fig.  253.) 
Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Peppermint. 

BITTERSWEET   NIGHTSHADE 
Solanum  Dulcamara,  L. 

[Other  English  names:  Woody  Nightshade,  Blue  Bindweed,  Felon- 
wort,  Poison  Berry. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   May  to  September. 

Seed-tim^e:  First  fruits  ripe  in  August  but  late  clusters  often  cling  to 
the  vine  until  winter. 

Range:  New  Brunswick  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  Georgia  and 
Kansas. 

Habitat:   Moist  banks,  fence  rows,  thickets,  and  around  dwellings. 

The  fruits  of  this  plant  are  not  dangerously  poisonous,  but  are 
sufficiently  so  to  bring  on  unpleasant  sensations  of  nausea  and 
cramp,  particularly  if  the  seeds  are  well  ripened.  Birds  eat  the 
fruits,  however,  without,  any  apparent  harmful  effect,  and  void 
the  seeds  along  fences  and  about  house  grounds  and  hedges,  and  the 
plants  spring  up  where  young  children  might  find  the  berries  and 
be  tempted  to  eat  them. 

Stem  slender,  two  to  ten  feet  in  length,  round  and  smooth,  or 
slightly  hairy  wiien  young.  Leaves  alternate,  thin,  dark  green, 
entire,  with  slim,  grooved  petioles,  the  lower  ones  ovate  to  heart- 
shaped,  the  upper  ones  halberd-shaped  or  with  two  lateral  ear-like 
lobes  at  the  base  which  often  become  separate  leaflets.  Flowers  in 
small  cymose  clusters,  on  short,  slender  peduncles  springing  from 
the  side  of  the  stem  between  the  leaves ;  corolla  violet-blue  or 
purple,  wheel-shaped,  with  five  pointed  lobes ;  stamens  five,  inserted 
on  the  throat  of  the  corolla,  the  anthers  uniting  in  a  cone  around 
the  style;  ovary  two-celled;  calyx-lobes  short  and  obtuse,  per- 


364  SOLANACEAE  (NIGHTSHADE  FAMILY) 

sistent  at  the  base  of  the  fruit,  which  is  an  ovoid  pulpy  berry,  at 
first  green,  then  bright  orange,  and  finally  ruby-red,  the  thin  skin  so 
transparent  as  to  reveal  the  yellow  seeds  within.  A  single  vine 
may  exhibit  all  stages  of  coloring,  from  violet  flowers  to  green  and 
ripe  fruit. 

Means  of  control 

Young  plants  may  be  hand-pulled  when  the  ground  is  soft ;  older 
roots  must  be  grubbed  out.  Or  the  shrub  may  be  killed  by  pouring 
hot  brine  or  caustic  soda  about  the  roots. 

COMMON,   OR  BLACK,   NIGHTSHADE 

Solanum  nigrum,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Deadly  Nightshade,  Duscle,  Poison  Berry, 
Hound's  Berry,  Stubble  Berry. 

Native.    Annual.    Propagates  by 


Time  of  bloom :  July  to  October. 

Seed-time:  Berries  ripe  in  late 
August,  but  frequently  are  still 
maturing  when  plants  are  win- 
terkilled. 

Range :  Nova  Scotia  to  the  North- 
west Territory,  southward  to 
Florida  and  Texas. 

Habitat:  Cultivated  ground,  old 
fields,  waste  places. 

The  poisonous  qualities  of  this 
plant  are  said  to  vary  much  with 
the  conditions  of  its  growth,  the 
more  dangerous  having  more  of 
the  characteristic  musky  odor. 
Some  housewives  boldly  make  pies 
of  the  fruit — occasionally  with  un- 
pleasant consequences.  Children 
have  been  poisoned  by  it,  also 
FIG.  254.  —  Black  Nightshade  (Sola-  calves,  sheep,  goats,  and  swine,  but 
num  nigrum).  x  i  "  fortunately  few  cases  are  fatal,"1 

1  Thirty  Poisonous  Plants,  by  V.  K.  Chesnut,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture. 


SOLANACEAE  (NIGHTSHADE  FAMILY)  365 

though  the  illness  caused  by  eating  its  ripe  fruit  is  one  of  exces- 
sive nausea.      (Fig.  254.) 

Stem  one  to  two  feet  high,  round,  slender,  with  spreading 
branches,  when  old  often  showing  a  purple  tinge  at  the  joints. 
Leaves  alternate,  long  ovate,  with  slim,  grooved  petioles,  thin, 
dark  green,  entire  or  sometimes  wavy-edged,  often  bitten  full  of 
tiny  holes  by  a  small  flea-beetle  which  infests  the  plant  and  makes 
it  a  menace  to  its  relative,  the  potato.  Flowers  white,  in  small, 
umbellate  clusters  of  three  to  ten  on  drooping  peduncles  springing 
from  the  side  of  the  stem ;  corolla  wheel-shaped,  five-lobed,  about 
a  quarter-inch  broad ;  stamens  five,  with  filaments  slightly  hairy 
and  obtuse  anthers  united  in  a  cone  around  the  style ;  calyx- 
lobes  much  shorter,  obtuse,  spreading,  persistent  at  the  base  of 
the  berry,  which  is  black,  globular,  smooth,  a  little  more  than 
a  quarter-inch  in  diameter. 

Means  of  control 

Being  annual  the  plants  are  readily  destroyed  by  pulling  or  close 
cutting  before  the  first  fruits  mature.  If  near  maturity  throw  the 
plants  on  the  compost  heap,  where  fermentation  will  destroy  the 
vitality  of  the  seed ;  or  burn  them. 

HORSE   NETTLE 
Solanum  carolinense,  L. 

Other  English  names :  Sand  Brier,  Bull  Nettle,  Bull  Thistle,  Apple  of 

Sodom,  Tread-soft. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 
Time  of  bloom:   May  to  September. 
Seed-time:  July  to  November. 
Range:  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  and  southern  Ontario,  to  Iowa 

and  Kansas,  southward  to  Florida  and  Texas. 
Habitat :    Meadows,  pastures,  and  cultivated  ground ;    invades  all 

crops. 

A  near  relative  of  the  potato  and  one  of  the  worst  weeds  native  to 
this  country ;  southern  in  its  origin  but  rapidly  making  its  way 
northward  and  westward  through  the  agencies  of  impure  clover 
seed  and  baled  hay.  The  deep-seated  rootstocks  are  most  tena- 
cious of  life ;  an  Indiana  farmer  states  that  they  "  will  live  ten  years 


366 


SOLANACEAE  (NIGHTSHADE  FAMILY) 


under  a  heap  of  sawdust  and  grow  as  soon  as  the  dust  is  removed." 
Sheep  are  the  only  grazing  animals  that  will  touch  the  plant,  and 
they  merely  nibble  off  the  fruits ;  the  seeds  are  widely  scattered 
in  their  droppings  and  many  a 
productive  acre  is  thus  practically 
ruined.  (Fig.  255.) 

Stem  six  inches  to  two  feet  tall, 
erect,  loosely  branched,  roughened 
with  short,  stiff,  star-shaped  hairs, 
and  beset  with  sharp,  awl-shaped, 
yellow  spines.  Alternate  leaves 
two  to  five  inches  in  length,  oblong 
to  ovate  in  outline,  irregularly  and 
coarsely  wavy-toothed,  or  sinuate- 
pinnatifid,  covered  with  star-shaped 
hairs,  veins  and  midrib  prickly  on 
both  sides  as  are  also  the  petioles. 
Flowers  in  open  cymose  clusters 
on  prickly  peduncles  which  spring 
from  the  side  of  the  stem  between 
the  leaves,  at  first  appearing  ter- 
minal but  becoming  lateral  as  the 
stem  lengthens ;  corolla  pale  violet 
or  bluish  white,  five-lobed ;  stamens 
with  anthers  equal  and  tapering 
toward  the  summit;  calyx-lobes  hairy,  rather  short,  acute,  per- 
sistent at  the  base  of  the  fruit,  which  is  an  orange-colored  berry, 
smooth,  globular,  about  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  full 
of  juicy  pulp  and  flattened,  straw-colored  seeds. 


FIG.  255.  —  Horse  Nettle  (Solanum 
carolinense).     X  J. 


Means  of  control 

If  the  infestation  is  new  and  the  area  not  too  large,  the  plants 
may  be  killed  outright  by  the  use  of  hot  brine,  caustic  soda,  or 
kerosene  which  usually  destroys  all  accompanying  growths  or, 
if  pains  are  taken  to  apply  the  herbicide  directly  about  the  roots 
of  the  weeds,  the  neighboring  plants  may  not  be  greatly  damaged. 
If  possible,  all  seed  development  should  be  prevented,  which 


SOLANACEAE  (NIGHTSHADE  FAMILY)  367 

means  early,  deep,  and  frequent  cutting  with  hoe  or  spud ;  salt  on 
the  cut  surfaces  will  retard  new  growth  and  will  also  induce  stock  to 
bite  off  young  shoots.  In  order  to  destroy  the  rootstocks  short 
rotations  are  necessary,  alternating  cultivated  crops,  to  which 
are  given  such  thorough  tillage  that  no  green  leaves  are  allowed 
to  appear  on  the  weeds,  with  such  crops  as  rye,  clover,  and  vetch, 
which  will  choke  and  smother  the  Nettle,  supply  late  pasturage, 
and  then  be  plowed  under  to  furnish  humus  for  another  cultivated 
crop,  well  tilled.  Two  or  three  seasons  of  continuous  effort  are 
required  in  order  to  suppress  the  weed,  but  the  labor  is  well  repaid 
by  the  deliverance  of  the  soil  from  such  a  pest. 

WHITE  HORSE  NETTLE 
Solatium  elceagnifolium,  Cav. 

Other  English  names:  Prickly  Nightshade,  Silver-leaved  Nightshade, 

Blue-top,  Trompillo. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 
Time  of  bloom :  May  to  September. 
Seed-time :   July  to  November. 
Range:   Missouri  and  Kansas  to 

Texas  and  Arizona. 
Habitat :     Plains     and     prairies ; 

meadows,    pastures,   cultivated 

grounds ;  invades  all  crops. 

Stems  one  to  three  feet  high, 
slender,  branching,  silver- white 
with  a  dense,  scurf-like  covering  of 
fine,  many-rayed  hairs,  and  beset 
with  slender,  very  sharp  prickles, 
or  these  are  often  lacking.  Leaves 
oblong  to  lance-shaped,  obtuse, 
wavy-edged  or  entire,  covered  with 
fine,  star-shaped,  white  hairs,  and 
narrowed  abruptly  at  the  base  to 
short,  prickly  petioles.  Flowers  in 
cymose  clusters,  appearing  terminal 
but  soon  becoming  lateral,  between  FlQ  256._white  Horse  Nettle 

the  leaf  axils  ;  Corolla  violet  or  light         (Solanum  eheagnifolium). 


368  SOLAN 'ACE AE  (NIGHTSHADE  FAMILY) 

blue,  five-lobed,  nearly  an  inch  broad ;  the  five  stamens  with 
equal  tapering  anthers,  similar  to  the  preceding  species ;  calyx- 
lobes  narrow  lance-shaped,  acute,  hairy.  Fruit  a  globular,  yellow 
berry,  about  a  half -inch  in  diameter.  (Fig.  256.) 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  preceding  species. 

BUFFALO   BUR 

Solanum  rostratum,  Dunal. 

Other  English  names :  Beaked  Nightshade,  Sand  Bur,  Colorado  Bur, 
Texas  Thistle,  Mexican  Thistle. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   May  to  September. 

Seed-time:  July  to  November. 

Range :  South  Dakota  to  Tennessee,  Mississippi,  Texas,  and  Mexico. 
Locally  in  the  Eastern  States. 

Habitat:  Plains  and  prairies,  foothills;  meadows,  pastures,  culti- 
vated ground,  waste  places. 

This  is  one  of  the  weeds  frequently  transported  in  baled  hay, 
and  its  appearance  in  eastern  localities  has  usually  been  first  in 
vacant  lots  near  city  livery  stables  and 
on  near-by  farms  where  such  stable 
refuse  has  been  purchased  for  manur- 
ing the  land.  Also  the  burs  are  dis- 
tributed in  the  wool  of  sheep,  as  they 
formerly  were  in  the  matted  coats  of 
the  buffalo  herds,  the  plants  being 
always  abundant  about  the  "buffalo 
wallows."  (Fig.  257.) 

Stem  one  to  two  feet  high,  much 
branched,  covered  with  yellowish,  star- 
shaped   hairs,   and   densely  set  with 
slender,  awl-like,  yellow  spines.  Leaves 
long  oval  in  outline  but  once  or  twice 
pinnatifid,  the  segments  often  not  op- 
posite and  very  irregular  in  size,  but 
the  terminal  one  being  usually  largest, 
FIG.  257. -Buffalo  Bur  (Sola-   covered  wit^  rayed  hairs,  the  midribs 
num  rostratum) .    x  i.  and  the  petioles  prickly.     Flowers  in 


SOL  AN  ACE AE  (NIGHTSHADE  FAMILY)  369 

open  racemose  clusters,  on  prickly  peduncles  from  the  side  of  the 
stem,  the  corolla  wheel-shaped,  nearly  an  inch  broad,  golden  yel- 
low, its  five  lobes  slightly  irregular,  the  stamens  and  the  style 
declined ;  the  lowest  of  the  five  stamens  much  longer  than  the 
others  and  with  an  incurved  beak  ;  calyx  densely  prickly,  becoming 
the  bur  that  encloses  the  fruit.  The  plant  frequently  becomes 
a  tumbleweed,  distributing  its  burs  as  it  rolls  before  the  winds. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production.  Being  annual  the  weed  can  readily 
be  suppressed  if  it  is  persistently  cut  or  pulled  while  in  early  flower. 
Other  tasks  may  well  be  postponed  for  a  day  or  two  in  order  to 
rid  the  ground  of  so  undesirable  a  tenant. 

MEXICAN  GROUND  CHERRY 

Phi/salis  ixocdrpa,  Brotero 

Other  English  names:   Strawberry  Tomato,  Tomatillo. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:    Late  August  to  November. 

Range :     Southern   and   Southwestern   States ;     cultivated   for   its 

fruit,  and  freely  escaping.     Local  farther  north. 
Habitat :   Rich  soil ;   fields  and  waste  places. 

The  fruit  of  this  plant  has  a  pleasant  flavor,  either  in  the  fresh 
state  or  when  used  in  catsups  and  sauces  ;  birds  also  like  the  fruit 
and  void  the  seeds  unharmed,  and  in  this  and  other  ways  the  plant 
often  becomes  a  troublesome  weed. 

Stem  one  to  nearly  three  feet  in  length,  much  branched,  at  first 
erect  but  later  drooped  and  spreading,  woody  at  base,  angled, 
smooth  except  for  sparse  hairiness  on  growing  branchlets.  Leaves 
long-ovate,  pointed,  coarsely  wavy-toothed  or  entire,  the  base 
wedge-shaped  and  tapering  to  a  slender  petiole.  Flowers  solitary, 
springing  from  the  side  of  the  stem  slightly  above  the  axils  ;  corolla 
bell-shaped,  five-lobed,  about  a  half-inch  broad,  yellow  with  pur- 
plish throat ;  stamens  five,  erect,  with  anthers  separate ;  calyx 
at  first  short  and  spreading,  but  as  the  fruit  begins  to  form  it 

2B 


370  SOLAN  ACE  AE  (NIGHTSHADE  FAMILY) 

elongates,  becomes  thin  and  much  inflated,  ten-ribbed,  netted 
with  purple  veins,  quite  enclosing  the  two-celled,  globular  berry, 
the  five  triangular  teeth  meeting  at  the  tip ;  often  the  envelope 
is  ruptured  by  the  swelling  fruit,  or  "cherry,"  which  is  purplish 
red,  nearly  an  inch  in  diameter,  with  a  sweet  and  somewhat  sticky 
pulp,  in  which  many  flattened,  yellowish  brown  seeds  are  em- 
bedded. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  development  by  closely  cutting  or  pulling  the  plants 
while  in  early  bloom. 


LOW  HAIRY   GROUND   CHERRY 
Physalis  pubescens,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Bladder  Cherry,  Dwarf  Cape  Gooseberry, 

Husk  Tomato,  Strawberry  Tomato. 
Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 
Seed-time:   Late  August  to  November. 
Range:    Pennsylvania   to   California,    southward   to   Florida   and 

Mexico. 
Habitat :   Sandy  soils ;   fields,  meadows,  pastures,  waste  places. 

Frequently  cultivated  at  the  North,  but  in  the  Southern  States 
often  obnoxiously  plentiful  as  a  weed.  Stem  slender,  angled,  hairy, 
decumbent  at  base,  widely  branching,  seldom  rising  more  than  a 
foot  above  the  ground  but  often  extending  for  a  yard  or  more  in  all 
directions.  Leaves  thin,  long  ovate,  pointed,  wavy-edged  or  entire, 
rounded  or  abruptly  narrowed  at  base,  the  veins  and  petioles  usu- 
ally hairy.  Flowers  less  than  a  half-inch  broad,  pale  yellow  with 
brown-spotted  throat,  the  five-lobed  calyx  at  first  short  and  hairy 
but  becoming  thin,  membranous,  and  nearly  smooth  as  it  enlarges 
and  envelops  the  growing  fruit;  the  more  prominent  ribs  form  a 
ring  of  small  knobs  around  its  peduncle.  The  berry  within  is  yel- 
low, about  a  half-inch  in  diameter,  not  sticky  like  that  of  the 
Tomatillo,  but  more  pleasant  to  the  taste,  being  slightly  acid. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  preceding  species. 


SOLANACEAE  (NIGHTSHADE  FAMILY)  371 

VIRGINIA   GROUND   CHERRY 

Physalis  virginiana,  Mill. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   Late  August  to  November. 

Range :  New  York  to  Manitoba,  southward  to  Florida  and  Louisiana. 

Habitat :   Rich  soil ;   fields,  meadows,  waste  places. 

This  plant  is  very  variable,  but  is  in  all  its  forms  a  bad  weed 
because  of  its  fleshy,  creeping  rootstock.  Stem  eighteen  inches  to 
three  feet  tall,  slightly  angled,  fork-branched,  covered  with  ap- 
pressed  hairs  or  sometimes  nearly  smooth  or  in  some  forms  some- 
what glandular.  Leaves  long-ovate  to  lance-shaped,  tapering  at 
both  ends,  usually  with  a  few  roundish,  irregular  teeth  on  each  side 
but  often  entire,  rather  thin,  light  green.  Flowers  more  than  a 
half-inch  broad,  the  corolla  sulfur-yellow  with  purplish  brown 
spots,  the  stamens  erect  with  deep  yellow  anthers ;  the  calyx  at 
first  hairy  but  as  it  enlarges  becoming  nearly  smooth,  pyramidal- 
ovoid,  five-angled,  and  deeply  sunken  around  the  peduncle. 
Fruit  reddish,  about  a  half-inch  in  diameter. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Prairie  Ground  Cherry. 

PRAIRIE   GROUND   CHERRY 

Phtfsalis  lanceolata,  Michx. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom:  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:    Late  August  to  November. 

Range :  Illinois  to  Wyoming  and  New  Mexico,  southeastward  to  the 

Carolinas. 
Habitat :   Dry  soil ;   fields,  meadows,  pastures,  waste  places. 

Its  deep,  running  rootstocks  make  this  weed  much  more  perni- 
cious than  its  annual  relatives,  for  the  ground  cannot  be  rid  of  its 
presence  until  these  are  killed.  Stem  one  to  two  feet  tall,  sparsely 
set  with  flat  hairs,  slightly  angled,  and  at  first  upright  but  later 
diffusely  branched  and  spreading  on  the  ground.  Leaves  broadly 
lance-shaped  to  spatulate,  usually  obtuse,  tapering  to  the  petiole, 
entire  or  rarely  wavy-edged.  Flowers  dull  yellow  with  brownish 


372  SOLANACEAE  (NIGHTSHADE  FAMILY) 

centers,  each  about  a  half-inch  broad,  on  peduncles  about  as  long 
as  themselves  ;  calyx  at  first  hairy  but  when  inflated  almost  smooth, 
nearly  ovoid  in  shape,  not  sunken  around 
the  stem,  its  ten  ribs  showing  merely  as 
lines  on  the  surface.  Berry  reddish  yel- 
low, about  a  half-inch  in  diameter. 
(Fig.  258.) 

Means  of  control 

Starve  the  rootstocks  by  persistently 
depriving  them  of  leaf-growth,  beginning 
with    the   first    bloom  ;     retarding    new 
growth  by  the  use  of  salt  or  a  few  drops 
of  kerosene  on  the  shorn  surfaces.     In 
cultivated  crops  tillage  should  be  con- 
tinued much  later  than  is  usual,  for  it  is 
generally    the    late    green    foliage    that 
assimilates  the  food  which  restocks  the 
FIG.      258.  —  Prairie  underground   storehouses.      Small  areas 
Ground    Cherry     (Phy sails  may  be  killed  outright  bv  more  liberal 
lanceolata)       X  i  i«       •  ••  i  • 

applications  of  kerosene,  caustic  soda  or 

hot  brine,  making  the  ground  barren  for  a  season;  or  the  root- 
stocks  may  be  grubbed  out. 

APPLE   OF   PERU 
Nicdndra  Physalddes,  Pers. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   Late  August  to  November. 

Range:   Nova  Scotia  to  Ontario,  and  southward  to  Florida. 

Habitat:   Fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

Brought  to  this  country  to  be  cultivated  for  ornament  in  gardens, 
but  naturalized  as  a  weed  in  many  localities,  particularly  in  the 
southern  part  of  its  range. 

Stem  rather  stout,  smooth,  angled,  two  to  five  feet  tall,  erect 
and  branching.  Leaves  long-ovate,  rather  thin,  three  to  eight 


SOLAN  AGE AE  (NIGHTSHADE  FAMILY) 


373 


inches  long  and  half  as  wide,  obtuse,  coarsely  toothed  on  the  outer 
half  but  entire  where  they  taper  abruptly  to  the  short,  grooved 
petiole.  Flowers  solitary  on 
terminal  and  axillary  pedun- 
cles, large,  the  corollas  bell- 
shaped,  pale  blue  or  sometimes 
white  with  purple  throats, 
nearly  two  inches  in  length, 
the  lips  scarcely  at  all  lobed 
and  flaring  to  about  the  same 
in  width;  stamens  five,  in- 
serted on  the  corolla  near  its 
base,  the  filaments  short,  di- 
lated and  hairy  at  base ;  style 
slender  with  three  to  five- 
parted  stigma  and  ovary  with 
three  to  five  —  mostly  five — 
cells;  calyx  at  first  small, 
composed  of  five  joined  seg- 
ments, blunt  arrowshaped, 
with  conspicuous,  backward- 
turned,  acute  auricles  at  base ; 
these  are  beautifully  net- 


FIG.   259.  —  Apple    of    Peru    (Nicandra 
Physalodes).     X  i- 


veined,  and  enlarge  so  greatly 

as  to  quite  enfold  and  conceal  the  fruit,  which  is  a  dry-seeded, 

inedible  berry,  about  a  half-inch  in  diameter.      (Fig.  259.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  formation  by  close  cutting  or  hand-pulling  while 
the  plant  is  in  early  bloom. 


BLACK  HENBANE 
Hyoscyamus  niger,  L. 

Other  English  names :   Fetid  Nightshade,  Insane  Root,  Hog's  Bean. 
Introduced.     Annual  or  biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  June  to  September. 
Seed-time:  July  to  October. 


374 


SOLANACEAE  (NIGHTSHADE  FAMILY) 


Range:  Nova  Scotia  and  Eastern  Quebec  to  Ontario,  New  York, 
and  Michigan ;  also  in  Idaho  and  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  Locally 
about  Atlantic  seaports  and  in  Iowa,  Utah,  and  Montana. 

Habitat:  Waste  places.     Prefers  rich  soil. 

A  coarse,  ill-scented,  and  very  dangerous  weed,  poisonous  in  every 
part.     Cattle  avoid  it  because  of  its  harsh  texture  and  evil  odor, 

but  poultry  die  from  eating  its 
ripe  seeds  and  hogs  are  killed  by 
eating  its  fleshy  roots. 

Stem  stout,  one  to  three  feet  in 
height,  clothed  with  viscid  hairs. 
Leaves  dark  green,  three  to  six  or 
more  inches  long,  with  irregular 
pointed  lobes,  wavy  edges,  and 
viscid-hairy  midribs;  they  are 
alternate,  the  upper  ones  sessile 
and  clasping,  but  the  lower  ones 
petioled  and  drooping  on  the 
ground.  Flowers  in  a  short,  one- 
sided cluster  at  the  top  of  the 
plant  and  solitary  in  the  leaf 
angles;  they  are  funnel-shaped, 
somewhat  unequally  five-Iobed, 
nearly  two  inches  broad,  the  co- 
rolla greenish  yellow  with  throat 
and  lobes  netted  with  purple 
veins ;  stamens  five,  exserted  and 
declined ;  calyx  urn-shaped,  with 
five  pointed  lobes  and  five  ribs ;  it  enlarges  to  enclose  the  oblong 
capsule,  which  is  about  a  half-inch  long,  two-celled  and  opens 
transversely  around  the  top,  the  latter  falling  off  like  a  lid,  spilling 
the  numerous  seeds.  These  are  kidney-shaped,  brown,  with  a 
strongly  netted  surface.  (Fig.  260.) 


FIG.  260.  —  Black  Henbane  (Hyoscy- 
amus  niger).     X  &. 


Means  of  control 

Grub  out  and  destroy  the  plants  as  soon  as  discovered,  allowing 
no  seed  to  mature. 


SOLANACEAE  (NIGHTSHADE  FAMILY) 


375 


JAMESTOWN   OR   JIMSON   WEED 
Datura  Stramdnium,  L. 

Other  English  names :    Jamestown  Lily,  Thorn  Apple,  Mad  Apple, 
Devil's  Apple,  Devil's  Trumpet,  Dewtry,  Stinkwort,  Stinkweed. 
Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  June  to  September. 
Seed-time:   September  to  December. 

Range :  Nova  Scotia  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  Florida  and  Texas. 
Habitat:   Fields  and  waste  places. 

A  coarse,  ill-scented,  dangerously  poisonous  plant,  much  too 
common;  children  have  been  poisoned  by  eating  its  seeds  and 
taking  its  flowers  into  their  mouths. 
Although  cattle  will  not  touch  the 
plant  when  green,  they  have  been 
poisoned  by  the  young  leaves  when 
cured  in  hay. 

Stem  one  to  five  feet  tall,  stout, 
smooth,  or  slightly  hairy  when  young, 
pale  green,  branching  by  forking. 
Leaves  alternate,  three  to  eight  inches 
long,  pointed  oval  in  outline  but  ir- 
regularly cut  and  toothed,  dark  green 
above,  lighter  below,  thin,  smooth, 
with  large  veins  and  stout  petioles. 
Flowers  solitary  on  short  peduncles  in 
the  forks  of  the  branches,  the  corolla 
white,  trumpet-shaped,  sometimes  four 
inches  long,  the  five-lobed  mouth  of 
the  trumpet  flaring  to  a  width  of  about  two  inches ;  five  stamens 
included,  their  filaments  inserted  a  little  below  the  middle  of  the 
corolla  tube;  calyx  five-lobed  and  ridged,  enclosing  the  tube  for 
nearly  half  its  length.  Capsule  about  two  inches  long  when 
mature,  ovoid,  prickly,  incompletely  four-celled,  opening  at  the 
top;  seeds  many,  dark  brown,' wrinkled,  and  flat.  (Fig.  261.) 

Both  leaves  and  seeds  of  Stramonium  are  used  in  medicine. 
About  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds  of  the  dried  leaves 
are  imported  yearly  at  a  cost  of  two  to  eight  cents  a  pound,  and 


FIG.  261.  —  Jamestown  or 
Jimson  Weed  (Datura  Stramo- 
nium). X  i- 


376  SOLANACEAE  (NIGHTSHADE  FAMILY) 

more  than  ten  thousand  pounds  of  the  seeds,  costing  three  to  seven 
cents  a  pound. 

Means  of  control 

Pull  or  closely  cut  the  plants  before  the  ripening  of  the  earliest 
capsules. 

PURPLE  THORNAPPLE 

Datura  Tdtula,  L. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   May  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range:   Ontario  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  Florida  and  Texas. 

Habitat :   Fields  and  waste  places. 

A  near  relative  of  the  Jimson  Weed  and  equally  poisonous. 
Stems  one  to  five  feet  tall,  fork-branched,  smooth,  deep  purple. 
Leaves  dark  green,  with  purple  veins  and  petiole,  more  hairy  than 
the  preceding  species,  long  ovate,  and  coarsely  toothed.  The  flar- 
ing lips  of  the  trumpet-like  corollas  are  violet  or  lavender,  paling 
to  white  in  the  throat.  The  prickly  capsule  or  "apple"  is  also 
purple,  the  thorns  on  its  surface  a  little  longer  and  stouter  than 
those  of  the  Jimson  Weed.  Seeds  similar  in  appearance. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  Jimson  Weed. 

HAIRY  THORNAPPLE 
Datiira  Metel,  L. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 

Seed-time :   September  to  December. 

Range:   New  England  to  Florida,  westward  to  Ohio. 

Habitat:   Roadsides  and  waste  places. 

Escaped  from  gardens,  where  it  was  cultivated  for  its  beauty, 
but  a  dangerous  stray  in  the  highways.  Stems  four  to  eight  feet 
tall,  stout,  much  branched,  finely  glandular-hairy.  Leaves  four 
to  ten  inches  long,  broadly  ovate,  acute,  inequilateral,  entire  or 
sometimes  slightly  wavy-edged,  covered  with  fine,  glandular 
hairs  which  give  the  surface  a  soft,  velvety  look.  Flowers  white, 
the  trumpet-shaped  corolla  often  six  or  seven  inches  long,  the  flar- 


SCROPHULARIACEAE  (FIG WORT  FAMILY) 


377 


ing  lips  three  or  four  inches  across ;  calyx  tubular,  five-lobed, 
smooth,  and  glandular-hairy.  "Apple"  globular,  about  an  inch 
and  a  half  in  diameter,  both  hairy  and  prickly.  This  plant  is  quite 
as  poisonous  as  the  two  preceding  species  and  should  be  as  promptly 
suppressed  when  out  of  the  bounds  of  cultivation. 


MULLEIN 
Verbdscum  Thdpsus,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Velvet  Dock,  Feltwort,  Blanket-leaf,  Hedge 

Taper,  Candle-wick,  Jacob's  Staff. 
Introduced.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   June  to  September. 
Seed-time:   August  to  November. 
Range:    Nova   Scotia   to   Minnesota,   southward   to   Florida   and 

Kansas. 
Habitat:   Old  fields,  pastures,  and  waste  places. 

Gray  states  that  the  generic  name  of  this 
plant  is  corrupted  from  Barbascum,  "the 
bearded"  —  certainly  most  fitting  for  a  plant 
so  densely  hairy  in  all  its  parts.  (Fig.  262.) 

Stem  two  to  seven  feet  tall,  stout,  erect, 
simple  or  with  one  or  two  upright  branches 
near  the  top.  Root-leaves  tufted,  spreading 
on  the  ground  in  a  large,  thick  rosette;  ob- 
long, light  green,  thick,  densely  woolly  with 
branched  and  interlacing  hairs,  tapering  to 
the  base,  four  inches  to  a  foot  or  more  in 
length,  the  larger  ones  with  petioles.  No 
grazing  animal  will  touch  these  felt-like 
leaves,  and  hibernating  insects  find  them  a 
safe  winter  shelter.  Upper  leaves  narrower 
and  more  pointed,  alternate,  their  bases  often 
decurrent  on  the  stem  to  the  axils  of  the 
leaf  below,  making  the  stem  four-winged. 
Flowers  sessile  on  long,  dense,  cylindrical 
spikes ;  calyx  with  five  pointed  lobes,  very 
woolly;  corolla  yellow,  with  five  unequal, 
rounded  lobes,  spread  flat,  open  for  but  a  Thapsus).  x  J. 


378 


SCROPHULARIACEAE  (FIG WORT  FAMILY) 


day;  five  stamens,  with  white  filaments,  the  three  upper  ones 
shorter  and  bearded,  with  smaller  anthers  than  those  of  the  longer 
lower  ones.  Capsule  nearly  a  quarter-inch  high,  globular,  two- 
celled,  downy,  filled  with  many  fine,  brown  seeds. 

Means  of  control 

Spudding  or  hoe-cutting  of  autumn  rosettes ;    pulling  or  close 
cutting  of  flower-stalks  before  seed  development. 

MOTH   MULLEIN 
Verbdscum  Blattdria,  L. 

Introduced.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  October. 

Seed-time:  July  to  November. 

Range:    Quebec    to    Minnesota,    southward    to 

Florida  and  Kansas. 
Habitat:   Clover  fields,  meadows,  pastures,  and 

waste  places. 

A  more  pernicious  weed  than  the  preceding 
species,  its  invasion  of  grasslands  causing  the 
seeds  to  become  mixed  with  those  of  timothy 
and  other  grasses,  from  which  they  are  difficult 
to  remove.  The  leaves  are  said  to  repel  the 
cockroach  (Blatta),  whence  the  specific  name; 
but  the  writer  has  not  found  the  reputation 
merited. 

Stem  two  to  five  feet  high,  round,  slender, 
simple  or  occasionally  branched,  smooth  or 
sparsely  set  with  glandular  hairs  near  the  top. 
Lower  leaves  oblong,  sometimes  pinnatifid, 
smooth,  dark  green,  veiny,  double-toothed,  three 
inches  to  nearly  a  foot  in  length,  tapering  to 
petioles ;  seldom  present  at  flowering  time ;  upper 
leaves  alternate,  pointed  and  partly  clasping. 
Flowers  in  long,  open  racemes,  on  spreading 
pedicels  nearly  an  inch  long,  with  small,  pointed 
bracts  at  the  base;  corolla  about  an  inch  broad, 
Blattaria).  x  i.  the  five  lobes  unsymmetncal,  creamy-white  or 


SCROPHULARIACEAE  (FIG WORT  FAMILY) 


379 


pale  yellow,  the  upper  one  brownish  on  the  back ;  stamens  of 
unequal  lengths,  the  filaments  bearded  with  purple  hairs.     Cap- 
sules globose,  longer  than  the  calyx,  many-seeded.    (Fig.  263.) 
Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Common  Mullein. 


YELLOW  TOAD-FLAX 

Linaria  vulgaris,  Hill 

Other  English  names:  Butter-and-Eggs.  Wild  Snap-dragon,  Flax- 
weed,  Impudent  Lawyer,  Ranstead. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  October. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range:  Nova  Scotia  to  Manitoba,  southward  to  Georgia  and 
Nebraska. 

Habitat:   Fields,  pastures,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

A  weed  very  difficult  to  suppress  because  of  its 
deep,  running  rootstocks.  Cattle  dislike  its  taste 
and  odor,  and  in  pastures  it  is  left  to  reproduce 
itself  unmolested ;  seed-bearing  plants  are  fre- 
quently transported  in  baled  hay. 

Stems  several  from  the  same  root,  erect,  smooth, 
very  slender,  one  to  two  feet  tall,  simple  or  with 
few  branches.  Leaves  alternate,  pale  green,  linear, 
entire,  pointed  at  both  ends,  sessile,  crowded  on 
the  stalks.  Flowers  in  dense  racemes,  the  earliest 
clusters  terminal,  later  bloom  springing  from  the 
axils ;  corolla  yellow,  irregular,  about  an  inch  long, 
spurred  at  the  base,  two-lipped,  the  upper  one 
two-lobed  and  erect,  the  throat  nearly  closed  and 
yellow-bearded  within,  the  bulging  palate  deep 
orange  above  spreading  lower  lips ;  stamens  four, 
in  unequal  pairs,  included ;  the  flowers  have  an 
unpleasant  odor.  Capsules  two  celled,  ovoid,  each 
containing  fifty  to  sixty  flattened,  rough,  wing- 
margined  seeds.  (Fig.  264.) 

Means  of  control 


FIG.  264. — 
Yellow  Toad-flax 
(Linaria  vulga- 
ris). X  i. 


If  the  area  infested  is  small,  use  one  of  the  strong  herbicides, 
such  as  hot  brine  or  caustic  soda,  which  will  kill  all  other  plant 


380 


SCROPHULARIACEAE  (FIG WORT  FAMILY) 


growth  as  well  but  will  leave  the  ground  clean  when  the  chemical 
has  leached  away.  Do  not  use  a  cultivator  in  ground  befouled  with 
Toad-flax ;  it  only  serves  to  spread  the  weed ;  hoe  and  hand-labor 
are  more  effective.  If  the  plants  are  kept  persistently  and  deeply 
cut  throughout  the  growing  season,  the  underground  stems  will 
finally  starve  to  death. 


MARYLAND   FIGWORT 
Scrophularia  marildndica,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Pilewort,  Heal-all. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:   Massachusetts  to  South  Carolina,  Kansas,  and  Louisiana. 

Habitat :   Lowland  meadows,  fence  rows,  and  borders  of  woods. 

The  knotted  roots  of  this  plant  have 
long  been  reputed  a  cure  for  scrofula, 
piles,  and  other  diseases,  and  are  salable 
in  the  drug-market.  The  time  for  col- 
lecting is  in  autumn,  when  the  summer's 
growth  has  stored  the  roots  for  winter's 
sustenance. 

Stem  erect,  slender,  four-angled, 
smooth  except  for  the  glandular  hairs  on 
its  flower  stalks,  usually  much  branched, 
often  purplish  red  in  color,  three  to  eight 
feet  tall.  Leaves  three  inches  to  a  foot 
in  length,  opposite,  dark  green,  ovate, 
long-pointed,  saw-toothed,  with  promi- 
nent veins  and  long,  slender  petioles. 
Flowers  in  long,  open,  leafless  panicles 
at  the  summit  of  the  stem  and  the 
branches ;  corolla  about  a  quarter-inch 
long,  dull  green  outside,  glossy  purple 

within,   with    spreading  lower   lip   and 
FIG.  265.  —  Maryland  Fig-  .          »     ,.     ,., 

wort     (Schrophularia    mari-     uPPer    one    erect>    two    Pairs    of    fertlle 
landica).    x  J.  stamens  of  unequal  length  and  a  sterile 


SCBOPHULARIACEAE  (FIG WORT  FAMILY) 


381 


fifth  one,  reduced  to  a  purple  scale  on  the  roof  of  the  corolla  tube ; 
calyx  five-cleft,  with  rounded  lobes.  Capsule  ovoid,  thin,  papery, 
two-celled,  opening  at  the  top.  Seeds  many,  small,  rough,  dull 
brown.  (Fig.  265.) 

S.  leporella,  Bicknell,  is  a  closely  related  plant,  differing  in 
having  more  coarsely  toothed  leaves,  and  flowers  with  corolla 
more  contracted  at  the  throat,  the  sterile  stamen  greenish  yellow ; 
it  is  even  more  frequent  on  hillsides  and  brushy  pasture.  Range 
from  Connecticut  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  Nebraska  and 
North  Carolina. 


Means  of  control 

The  roots  may  be  killed  by  persistent 
cutting,  aided  by  salt  or  carbolic  acid 
on  the  cut  surfaces.  Or  they  may  be 
grubbed  out  or  pulled  when  the  ground 
is  soft,  and  perhaps  sold  for  enough  to 
pay  for  the  trouble  of  their  extraction. 


FOXGLOVE   BEARD-TONGUE 

Pentstemon  l&vigatus,  Ait. 
Var.  Digitalis,  Gray 

Native.  Perennial.   Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   May  to  July. 
Seed-time:   June  to  August. 
Range :  New  York  to  Illinois,  southward 

to  Virginia  and  Arkansas.    Locally  in 

the  Northeastern  States. 
Habitat :   Meadows,  pastures,  and  waste 

places. 

An  unwholesome  and  bitter  weed 
which  has  been  introduced  in  many  new 
localities  by  means  of  baled  hay  and  as 
an  impurity  of  grain  and  grass  seed. 
Cattle  reject  it  when  green,  but  will  eat 


it  as  hay,  when  it  is  injurious  to  the    Beard-tongue 
flavor  of  dairy  products. 


FIG.  266. 


loevioatus  var.  Digitalis). 


382  SCROPHULARIACEAE  (FIG WORT  FAMILY) 

Stem  rather  stout,  two  to  four  feet  tall,  simple  or  branched  from 
the  base,  often  ruddy-colored,  smooth  except  for  the  flower-stalks 
which  are  set  with  glandular  hairs.  Leaves  opposite,  light  green, 
firm  and  glossy,  long  ovate  to  lance-shape,  the  upper  ones  sessile 
with  clasping  bases  and  the  lower  ones  tapering  to  margined  petioles. 
Panicle  slender,  many-flowered,  terminal,  the  corolla  about  an  inch 
long,  whitish,  tinged  with  reddish  purple,  the  tube  much  dilated 
just  behind  the  throat,  which  is  open  and  not  hairy ;  the  five  lobes 
are  spreading  and  pointed,  two  on  the  upper  lip,  three  on  the  lower ; 
four  stamens  are  fertile  with  purple  anthers,  and  the  sterile  fila- 
ment, or  "tongue,"  is  bearded  only  on  its  upper  side;  calyx- 
segments  lance-shaped,  acute.  Capsule  ovoid,  two-celled,  con- 
taining many  irregular,  angled  seeds.  (Fig.  266.) 

Means  of  control 

Small  areas  may  be  destroyed  by  digging  or  pulling  when  the 
soil  is  soft,  but  meadows  badly  infested  with  Beard-tongue  require 
to  be  put  under  cultivation  for  a  season. 

PURPLE  FOXGLOVE 
Digitalis  purpurea,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Lady-fingers,  Pop-dock,  Scotch  Mercury. 

Introduced.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  June  to  August. 

Seed-time:  August  to  October. 

Range :    British  Columbia,  Washington  and  Oregon ;    also  in  the 

East  in  Virginia  and  West  Virginia  and  in  Cape  Breton  Island ; 

casual  in  New  York  and  New  Brunswick. 
Habitat:  Meadows  and  pastures,  roadsides,  waste  places. 

An  escape  from  gardens,  and  a  very  grave  one,  for  the  plant  is  very 
poisonous.  In  the  green  state,  cattle  usually  leave  it  untouched  to 
reproduce  itself,  but  when  cured  in  hay  it  becomes  a  danger  to 
animals  served  with  such  fodder ;  also  there  is  risk  that  the  range 
of  the  weed  may  be  extended  by  its  transportation  in  baled  hay. 
The  plant  is  medicinal  and  about  forty  thousand  to  sixty  thousand 
pounds  of  its  dried  leaves  are  annually  imported  from  Europe  at  a 
cost  of  six  to  eight  cents  a  pound.  They  should  be  collected  in  mid- 


SCROPHULARIACEAE  (FIG WORT  FAMILY) 


383 


flowering  season  of  the  second  year  of  growth,  dried  with  great  care 
and  be  put  up  in  close  boxes,  safe  from  moisture. 

Stems  stout,  erect,  round  or  slightly  angled 
near  the  top,  leafy  and  downy-hairy,  two  to 
five  feet  high,  appearing  in  the  second  year 
of  growth.  Leaves  of  the  first  year  all 
basal,  forming  a  dense  rosette,  spreading  flat 
on  the  ground ;  long-ovate,  rather  thick, 
finely  toothed,  tapering  to  petioles ;  the  upper 
surface  dull  green  and  somewhat  wrinkled, 
the  under  side  softly  hairy  and  netted  with 
prominent  veins ;  the  later  stem  leaves  are 
smaller,  alternate  and  sessile  or  nearly  so. 
Flowers  in  slender,  terminal,  one-sided  ra- 
cemes, sometimes  a  foot  in  length ;  corolla  a 
swollen  pale  purple  tube,  nearly  two  inches 
long,  drooping  on  a  short  pedicel,  five-lobed, 
the  lower  lobe  finely  white-hairy  within,  the 
throat  crimson-spotted ;  stamens  four,  in 
two  unequal  pairs,  included  in  the  corolla. 
Capsule  two-celled,  ovoid,  rather  large,  con- 
taining many  rough,  brown  seeds.  (Fig. 
267.) 

Means  of  control 

Deep  hoe-cutting  of  base-leaves  from  the  roots ;  close  cutting  of 
flower-stalks  before  the  development  of  any  seeds. 


FIG.  267.  — Purple 
Foxglove  (Digitalis  pur- 
purea).  X  J. 


COMMON   SPEEDWELL 
Verdnica  officindlis,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Fluellin,  Ground-hele, -Paul's  Betony,  Upland 

Speedwell. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  stolons. 
Time  of  bloom :   May  to  August. 
Seed-time:   July  to  October. 
Range:    Nova  Scotia  to  Ontario  and  Michigan,  southward  to  the 

Carolinas  and  Tennessee.     Also  native  to  Europe  and  Asia. 
Habitat :   Dry  hillsides  and  open  woods ;  pastures,  lawns,  and  waste 

places. 


384 


SCROPHULARIACEAE  (FIG WORT  FAMILY) 


A  frequent  weed  of  upland  pastures ;  its  stoloniferous  habit 
causes  it  to  form  patches  or  colonies,  crowding  out  the  larger  and 
more  nutritious  forage  plants. 

Stems  three  to  ten  inches  long,  softly  hairy,  usually  decumbent 
at  the  base  and  rooting  at  the  lower  joints,  the  flowering  stalks 
erect.  Leaves  opposite,  or  the  upper  ones 
alternate,  obovate  to  elliptical,  a  half-inch  to  an 
inch  long,  obtuse,  softly  hairy  on  both  sides, 
finely  toothed,  the  lower  ones  narrowing  to 
short,  margined  petioles.  Flowers  in  slender, 
spike-like  racemes  densely  crowded  on  very 
short  pedicels ;  corolla  four-parted,  the  lower 
lobe  less  than  half  as  large  as  the  others,  pale 
blue  or  whitish,  marked  with  dark  blue  or 
violet  lines,  the  whole  flower  only  about  a 
quarter-inch  broad.  Stamens  two,  one  on  each 
side  of  the  upper  lobe  of  the  corolla,  exserted ; 
one  slender  style  with  stigma  single ;  calyx  with 
four  narrow  pointed  lobes,  longer  than  the  pedi- 
cel. Capsule  heart-shaped,  two-celled,  about  an 
eighth  of  an  inch  broad,  filled  with  fine,  yellow, 
flattened  seeds.  (Fig.  268.) 

This  Speedwell  is  a  medicinal  herb,  and  its 
leaves  and  flowering  tops,   collected  when  the 
plant  is  in  full  bloom  and  carefully  dried,  are 
FIG.  268.  —  Com-   worth  three  to  five  cents  a  pound. 


mon  Speedwell  (Ve- 
ronica officinalis). 
X*. 


Means  of  control 

In  lawns  and  yards,  hoe-cutting  and  reseed- 
ing ;  in  fields,  cultivation  of  the  ground ;  crowding  out  with 
clover. 


THYME-LEAVED   SPEEDWELL 
Veronica  serpyllifolia,  L. 

Native  and  introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by 

rooting  at  the  joints. 
Time  of  bloom :   April  to  October. 


SCROPHULARIACEAE  (FIGWORT  FAMILY)  385 

Seed-time:   Late  May  until  snow-covered. 

Range :   Labrador  to  Alaska,  southward  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Habitat:   Moist  grass  lands,  waste  places. 

One  of  the  commonest  of  pasture  weeds  the  world  over,  but  so 
small  and  inconspicuous  that  it  is  hardly  noticed  until  it  monopo- 
lizes much  of  the  ground.  Often  called  "Creeping  Speedwell" 
because  it  lies  so  close  to  the  earth,  rooting  at  nearly  every  joint 
and  erecting  only  its  flowering  stalks.  Much  trampling  from  the 
sharp  hoofs  of  cattle  and  sheep  does  it  no  harm,  for,  though  cut  all 
to  bits,  the  fragments  take  root  and  continue  to  grow. 

Stems  two  to  ten  inches  long,  smooth  or  only  slightly  hairy, 
branching  on  all  sides  from  the  root.  Lower  leaves  opposite,  ovate, 
rounded,  nearly  smooth,  with  short  petioles ;  those  on  the  erect 
part  of  the  stems  alternate,  sessile,  narrow,  becoming  mere  lance- 
shaped  bracts  in  the  axils  of  which  sit  the  tiny  flowers ;  these  are 
similar  to  the  preceding  species  in  structure,  pale  blue  or  white, 
striped  with  darker  color,  and  less  than  a  quarter-inch  broad. 
Capsules  broadly  heart-shaped,  nearly  as  large  as  the  flowers,  con- 
taining many  yellow,  flattened  seeds  as  fine  as  dust. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  Common  Speedwell. 


PURSLANE   SPEEDWELL 
Verdnica  peregrlna,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Neckweed,  Winter  Purslane. 
Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   April  until  frost. 
.    Seed-time:    Late  May  until  snow-covered. 

Range:    Nova  Scotia  to  British  Columbia,  southward  to  the  Gulf 

of  Mexico. 
Habitat :  Gardens,  cultivated  fields,  grasslands,  roadsides,  and  waste 

places. 

This  plant  was  named  "neck weed"  when  it  and  other  members 
of  its  family  were  considered  good  remedies  for  the  scrofulous 
sores  that  often  appeared  on  the  neck ;  "Winter  Purslane"  because 
the  abundant  seed  sown  by  the  plants  of  the  previous  summer 
springs  so  suddenly  into  life  at  the  disappearance  of  the  winter's 
snow. 

2c 


SCROPHULARIACEAE  (FIG WORT  FAMILY} 

Stem  erect,  smooth  except  for  a  few  glandu- 
lar hairs,  three  inches  to  a  foot  high,  usually 
branched  but  may  be  simple.  Lower  leaves 
opposite,  rather  thick,  long  ovate  or  oblong, 
obtuse,  sharply  toothed,  with  short  petioles; 
upper  ones  alternate,  sessile,  entire,  narrowly 
oblong  to  linear,  less  than  a  half-inch  in 
length.  Flowers  like  the  two  preceding  species 
in  structure,  solitary  and  nearly  sessile  in  the 
axils,  very  pale  blue  or  white,  not  more  than 
a  tenth  of  an  inch  broad,  followed  by  a 
rounded  and  notched  capsule  larger  than  the 
flower  and  stuffed  with  many  very  fine  yellow 
seeds,  which  are  ripening  and  dropping  into 
the  soil  all  summer.  (Fig.  269.) 

Means  of  control 

In  cultivated  ground  tillage  should  be  con- 
tinued later  than  is  usual,  for,  if  not,  late- 

FIG.    269. Purs-    grown  plants  will  mature  enough  seed  to  keep 

lane   Speedwell  (Ve-    the  ground  foul.     Grasslands  badly  infested 
rmica    peregri.ia).     ^^    be    put    un(]er    culdvation   for   Qne    Qr 

two  seasons  before  reseeding.  Cattle  eat 
the  plant  readily,  but  it  is  a  poor  substitute  for  good  grass  or 
clover. 

CORN   SPEEDWELL 

Verdnica  arvensis,  L. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   Late  March  to  September. 

Seed-time:   May  to  November. 

Range:    Nova   Scotia  to   Ontario  and  Minnesota,   southward   to 

Florida,  Texas,  and  Kansas. 
Habitat:   Cultivated  ground,  waste  places. 

This  plant  frequently  begins  to  flower  when  less  than  three 
inches  high,  at  which  time  the  stem  is  erect  and  simple ;  later  it 
branches  diffusely  from  the  axils,  becoming  a  rather  spreading 
plant,  six  to  eight  inches  tall.  Lower  leaves  opposite,  petioled, 


OROBANCHACEAE  (BROOM-RAPE  FAMILY)  387 

ovate,  obtuse  at  both  ends,  scallop-toothed ;  upper  ones  alternate, 
sessile,  lance-shaped,  and  entire;  stem  and  foliage  softly  hairy. 
Flowers  axillary,  hardly  an  eighth  of  an  inch  broad,  pale  blue  or 
white,  on  very  short  pedicels.  Capsules  heart-shaped,  larger  than 
the  flowers,  filled  with  yellow,  minute  seeds  which  are  ripened  and 
distributed  all  summer. 
Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Purslane  Speedwell. 

FIELD    SPEEDWELL 

Verdnica  agrestis,  L. 

Other  English  names :  Germander  Chiekweed,  Winter  Weed,  Garden 

Speedwell. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   May  to  September. 
Seed-time:  June  to  October. 
Range:   Nova  Scotia  to  Georgia  and  Texas. 
Habitat :   Fields,  gardens,  and  waste  places. 

Stems  very  slender,  three  to  eight  inches  long,  branching  from 
the  base,  spreading,  procumbent,  with  smaller  branches  ascending. 
Leaves  broadly  ovate,  obtuse  at  tips,  rounded  or  heart-shaped  at 
base,  scallop-toothed,  the  lower  ones  opposite  and  petioled,  the 
upper  ones  alternate  and  sessile ;  the  whole  plant  clothed  with  fine, 
soft  hair.  Flowers  axillary  and  single,  on  very  slender,  hairy 
peduncles  longer  than  the  leaves ;  calyx-lobes  hairy  and  larger 
than  the  corolla,  which  is  pale  blue  and  about  a  quarter-inch  broad. 
Capsule  heart-shaped,  thickened,  much  broader  than  long,  few- 
seeded. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Purslane  Speedwell. 

BRANCHED   BROOM-RAPE 
Orobdnche  ramdsa,  L. 

Other  English  names :   Hemp  Broom-rape,  Tobacco  Broom-rape. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  August. 

Seed-time :  July  to  September. 

Range:    Illinois,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  North  Carolina,  and  New 

Jersey. 
Habitat :   Hemp  and  tobacco  fields ;   parasitic  on  tomatoes  in  New 

Jersey  truck  gardens. 


388  OROBANCHACEAE  (BROOM-RAPE  FAMILY) 

Broom-rapes  are  parasites,  or  robber  plants,  living  directly  on  their 
neighbors  by  attaching  strong  haustoria,  or  suckers,  to  their  roots, 
penetrating  the  tissues,  and  absorbing  the  food  materials  gathered 
and  assimilated  by  the  host  plants  for  their  own  development. 
This  species  was  brought  to  this  country  in  imported  hemp  and  to- 
bacco seed,  and  in  like  manner  its  range  here  is  being  extended. 

A  Broom-rape  seedling  appears  like  a  mere  light-colored,  nearly 
transparent  thread,  without  root  or  any  green  part,  having  power  to 
push  its  way  into  the  soil  but  not  to  draw  any  sustenance  from  it. 
If  a  suitable  host  is  not  found  soon  after  germinating,  it  shrivels 
and  dies ;  but  if  the  downward-boring  tip  comes  in  contact  with 
the  host  adapted  to  it,  in  this  case  a  plant  of  tobacco  or  hemp,  it 
develops  a  club-shaped  attachment  covered  with  little  pegs,  or 
suckers,  which  penetrate  and  seem  to  become  a  part  of  the  host 
plant's  root,  from  which  thereafter  its  life  is  drawn.  At  the  point 
of  juncture  a  bud  is  formed  and  a  stem  arises,  six  to  fifteen  inches 
tall,  rather  fleshy  at  base,  dividing  into  several  slender  branches, 
the  whole  plant  brownish  yellow  in  color,  with  a  few  scattered  scales 
instead  of  leaves.  The  flowers  are  in  spikes  terminating  the 
branches,  sessile  or  on  very  short  pedicels,  subtended  by  three  or 
fewer  small,  scale-like  bracts ;  each  blossom  has  a  persistent,  four- 
lobed  calyx  and  an  irregular,  two-lipped  corolla  about  a  half-inch 
long,  with  yellow  tube  and  pale  bluish  lips,  the  upper  one  two-cleft, 
the  lower  one  more  spreading  and  three-parted ;  four  stamens, 
inserted  on  the  tube  and  included ;  ovary  one-celled,  the  style  very 
long,  with  two-lipped  stigma.  Capsule  bluntly  ovoid,  one-celled, 
two-valved,  containing  an  immense  number  of  the  most  minute 
seeds,  which  are  widely  sown  by  the  winds  and,  though  so  small, 
are  very  long-lived,  having  been  known  to  survive  in  the  soil  for 
as  many  as  thirteen  years. 

Means  of  control 

If  the  infestation  is  new,  it  will  pay  to  pull  or  grub  out  and  de- 
stroy the  stalks  as  fast  as  they  attain  to  flowering  size,  in  order  to 
prevent  any  development  and  distribution  of  seed.  Burn  all  stems 
of  tobacco  or  hemp  from  infested  fields  and  cultivate  some  other 
crops  on  that  ground  for  several  seasons. 


OROBANCHACEAE  (BROOM-RAPE  FAMILY)  389 

CLOVER   BROOM-RAPE 
Orobdnche  minor,  J.  E.  Smith 

Other  English  names:   Lesser  Broom-rape,  Chokeweed,  Herb-bane, 

Clover  Devil,  Devil's  Root,  Hellroot. 
Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   May  to  July. 
Seed-time:   June  to  August. 
Range:    New  Jersey  southward  to  North  Carolina;    locally  in  a 

few  places  in  interior  states. 
Habitat :   Clover  fields. 

This  pest,  like  the  preceding  species,  was  brought  to  this  country 
with  the  seeds  of  its  host  plant.  The  parasite  is  larger  than  the 
plant  on  which  it  feeds,  and  its  presence  in  any 
abundance  means  ruin  to  the  crop. 

Stem  brownish  yellow,  rather  stout,  softly  downy, 
six  to  eighteen  inches  in  height,  without  branches ;  the 
scales  near  the  base  are  numerous  and  overlapping, 
oblong-ovate  in  shape ;  those  above  are  smaller,  more 
distant,  and  acute.  Flower-spike  three  to  six  inches 
long,  rather  loose,  each  blossom  subtended  by  one  or 
two  lance-shaped  bracts  nearly  as  long  as  itself ;  calyx 
cleft  to  the  base  above  and  below,  the  divisions  two- 
parted,  with  long,  awl-like  points ;  corolla  about  a  half- 
inch  in  length,  with  pale  brownish  yellow  tube  and 
lips  purple-tinged  or  lilac,  the  upper  one  incurved  and 
notched,  the  lower  with  three  spreading,  rounded  lobes. 
Capsule  about  a  quarter-inch  long,  crammed  with 
abundant  dust-like  seeds,  which,  if  allowed  to  ripen, 
are  sown  far  and  wide  by  the  winds  and  which,  in 
spite  of  their  small  size,  have  long  vitality  when  in 
the  soil.  (Fig.  270.) 

Mean,  of  control  Z%££ 

Permit  no  seed  to  form.     Stalks,  with  the  host  plants,   JJjjJf  "jjV 
should  be  pulled  as  fast  as  they  begin  to  bloom,  and  ™ 
be  piled  with  straw  or  other  litter,  soaked  with  oil,  and  burned. 
Under  no  circumstances  should  clover  seed  or  hay  from  infested 
fields  be  offered  in  market;  such  material  should  be  used  up  on 


390  OROBANCHACEAE  (BROOM-RAPE  FAMILY) 

the  ground.  The  crop  is  best  used  by  turning  under  for  green 
manure,  before  the  parasite  matures  seed,  and  clover  should  be 
left  out  of  rotation  on  that  ground  for  several  years. 

LOUISIANA  BROOM-RAPE 

Orobdnche  ludoviciana,  Nutt. 
(Myzorrhlza  ludoviciana,  Rydb.) 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom  :   June  to  August. 

Seed-time:   July  to  September. 

Range:    Illinois   to   the   Saskatchewan,   southward   to   California, 

Arizona,  and  Texas. 
Habitat:    Parasitic  on  several  wild  plants,  but  has  also  attacked 

tobacco. 

This  native  Broom-rape  has  a  wider  range  than  either 
of  its  immigrant  relatives,  but  it  is  only  in  localities 
suited  to  the  growing  of  tobacco  that  it  has  shown 
itself  to  be  harmful  to  plants  of  any  value. 

Stems  solitary  or  clustered,  sometimes  simple  but 
usually  branched,  three  inches  to  a  foot  in  height, 
rather  stout,  the  stalk  and  the  scales  covered  with 
minute,  glandular  hairs.  Scales  lance-shaped,  numer- 
ous. Flowers  in  dense  terminal  spikes,  each  subtended 
by  one  or  two  bracts  ;  calyx  viscidly  glandular,  its  five 
lobes  acute  and  nearly  as  long  as  the  tube  of  the 
corolla  :  the  latter  is  purplish,  slightly  curved,  and 
constricted  above  the  ovary;  upper  lip  two-parted, 
lower  one  with  three  lobes,  pointed  and  entire.  Cap- 

sule ovoid-oblong,  two-valved,  full  of  very  fine  seed. 
FIG.   271.    /F-     2?1  ) 
—  Louisiana    v     ° 
Broom  -rape     ,_.  , 

(Orobanche  Means  of  control 


If  the  ground  is  newly  infested,  the  persistent  hoe- 
cutting  of  the  parasites  from  the  roots  of  their  hosts 
before  any  seed  can  be  perfected,  piling  and  burning  them  with 
oil-soaked  straw  or  other  litter,  will  be  well  invested  labor.  After 
the  crop  is  harvested  and  cured,  the  stalks  should  be  burned. 
Plant  no  more  tobacco  on  the  infested  ground  for  several  seasons. 


PLANTAGINACEAE  (PLANTAIN  FAMILY)  391 

COMMON,   OR  BROAD-LEAVED,   PLANTAIN 
Plantago  major,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Greater  Plantain,  Dooryard  Plantain,  Bird- 
seed Plantain,  Way  bread. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:  May  to  September. 
Seed-time:  July  to  October. 

Range:   Throughout  North  America  except  the  extreme  North. 
Habitat :  Yards  and  lawns,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

A  very  persistent  intruder  in  yards  and  lawns,  no  doubt  because 
of  the  long  vitality  of  its  seeds.  Leaves  all  basal,  long  ovate, 
entire,  obtuse,  rounded  at  base, 
with  five  to  seven  prominent  length- 
wise veins  that  all  draw  together 
into  a  thick,  channeled  petiole ;  the 
outer  row  of  the  spreading  tuft 
lies  close  to  the  ground,  conserving 
moisture  for  the  clustered,  fibrous 
roots  and  choking  out  grass  or 
other  plant  growth.  Flowers  on 
slender,  cylindrical  blunt  spikes, 
three  inches  to  a  foot  or  more  in 
length,  densely  crowded,  the  corollas 
four-lobed,  with  four  stamens  in- 
serted on  the  throat,  and  a  single 
style  which  protrudes  from  the  bud, 
its  stigma  withered  before  its  own 
anthers  are  ripe,  thus  insuring 
cross-fertilization;  calyx  four-parted, 
persistent,  subtended  by  a  small 
bract;  ovary  two-celled.  Capsule  FIG.  272  -  Broad-leaved  Plantain 

„  i  (Plantago  major).     X  *. 

a    small    urn    or    pyxis,    the    top 

separating  transversely  at  about  the  middle;  each  contains  five 
to  sixteen  seeds.  When  wet  these  seeds  develop  a  coat  of 
mucilage  which  helps  in  their  distribution;  they  are  a  fre- 
quent impurity  of  other  seeds,  particularly  of  alsike  clover. 
(Fig.  272.) 


392  PLANT  AGIN  AGE  AE  (PLANTAIN  FAMILY) 

Means  of  control 

In  lawns  these  weeds  can  be  destroyed  without  much  deface- 
ment of  the  sward  by  treating  them  with  carbolic  acid.  Stab  each 
plant  in  the  center,  down  to  the  fibrous  cluster  of  roots,  with  a  stout 
dibble  or  skewer  stick,  and  squirt  in  a  few  drops  of  the  acid  with  a 
common  machine  oil-can.  Or  the  plants  may  be  cut  out  with  a 
spud.  The  best  time  for  either  operation  is  in  dry  weather,  just 
before  the  spikes  appear.  In  cultivated  crops  Plantains  are  not 
very  troublesome,  as  the  needed  tillage  destroys  them. 

RED-STEM   PLANTAIN 
Plantdgo  Rugelii,  Dene. 

Other  English  names:   Pale  Plantain,  Rugel's  Plantain. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range :  Maine  and  Ontario  to  North  Dakota,  southward  to  Florida 

and  Texas ;   locally  established  farther  west. 
Habitat :   Yards  and  shaded  lawns,  open  woods,  and  waste  places. 

A  near  relative  of  the  Common  Plantain,  often  growing  in  its 
company.  Leaves  similar  in  form  but  larger,  thinner,  pale  green, 
with  rather  long,  slender  petioles,  crimson  at  the  base.  Spikes  very 
slender,  sometimes  twenty  inches  in  length,  not  crowded,  tapering 
to  a  thin  point  at  the  summit,  and  crimson  at  the  base.  Flowers 
similar  to  those  of  the  preceding  species  but  larger,  the  green 
calyx-lobes  sharply  keeled.  Capsule  oblong,  nearly  cylindric, 
the  pyxis  opening  near  the  base,  within  the  calyx ;  seeds  four  to 
nine,  larger  than  those  of  the  Common  Plantain  and  more  difficult 
of  separation  from  clover  and  grass  seed. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  Common  Plantain. 

NARROW-LEAVED   PLANTAIN 
Plantdgo  lanceoldta,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Rib  Grass,  Ribwort,  Ripple  Grass,  English 

Plantain,  Black  Plantain,  Buckhorn. 
Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  April  to  October. 
Seed-time :  May  to  November. 


PLANTAGINACEAE  (PLANTAIN  FAMILY) 


393 


Range  :  New  Brunswick  to  the  Northwest  Territory  and  Alaska, 

southward  to  Florida  and  Kansas. 
Habitat:   Grasslands. 

A  much  more  pernicious  weed  than  its  broad-leaved  relatives; 
they  seem  to  prefer  yard  and  roadside,  but  this  species  overruns 
meadows  and  pastures.  Cattle  feed  on  the  plant  without  any 
apparent  dislike,  though  it  is  stringy 
and  somewhat  bitter  and  detracts  from 
the  quality  of  the  dairy  products. 
(Fig.  273.) 

Rootstock  short  and  thick,  with  many 
branching  rootlets.  Leaves  thickly 
tufted,  oblong-lance-shaped,  thick,  en- 
tire, hairy  on  both  sides  with  small  tufts 
of  brownish  hair  at  the  base,  three-  to 
seven-ribbed,  tapering  to  margined  peti- 
oles. Scape  very  slender,  strong  and 
wiry,  five-grooved,  hairy;  the  spike  at 
its  summit  is  at  first  capitate  and  very 
dense,  but  lengthens  with  the  procession 
of  bloom,  becoming  cylindric  and  more 
than  an  inch  long  ;  calyx-lobes  and  sub- 
tending bracts  greenish  brown,  scarious. 
Capsule  longer  than  the  calyx,  slightly 
narrowed  upward,  the  pyxis  opening  at 
about  the  middle  and  containing  but 
two  seeds,  grooved  on  the  inner  face. 
produce  about  a  thousand  seeds  ;  these  are  a  very  common 
impurity  of  grass  and  clover  seeds.  When  wet,  the  seeds  are 
very  mucilaginous,  a  quality  which  aids  their  distribution. 


FIG.  273.  —  Narrow-leaved 
tai°  ^Planta°<>    knceo- 

An  average  plant  will 


Means  of  control 

Sow  clean  seed.  Small  areas  in  lawn  or  yard  may  be  treated  with 
carbolic  acid  after  piercing  each  plant  to  the  root  with  a  skewer  or 
pointed  stick  ;  or  the  weeds  may  be  killed  by  deep  cutting  with  hoe 
or  spud.  But  rankly  infested  meadows  and  pastures  should  be 
plowed  under,  and  a  well-tilled  hoed  crop  inserted  in  the  rota- 
tion before  reseeding. 


394  PLANTAGINACEAE  (PLANTAIN  FAMILY) 

HOARY  PLAINTAIN 
Plantago  media,  L. 

Other   English   names:     Gray   Ribwort,    Gray   Buckhorn,   Woolly 

Plantain,  Sweet-flowered  Plantain. 
Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   May  to  September. 
Seed-time:  June  to  October. 
Range:  Maine  to  western  Ontario,  southward  to  Rhode  Island  and 

New  York.     Locally  established  in  many  of  the  Western  States. 
Habitat :   Grasslands ;   yards  and  waste  places. 

A  weed  that  is  extending  its  range  very  rapidly  by  the  agency  of 
grass  and  clover  seeds ;  its  rootstock  is  thicker  and  penetrates  more 
deeply  than  that  of  the  Rib  Grass,  and  it  is  in  other  ways  even  more 
pernicious.  Like  that  plant,  its  leaves  are  hairy,  but  the  hairs  are 
white,  giving  it  a  gray  or  hoary  appearance;  they  are  broadly 
oblong  or  elliptic,  spreading  near  the  ground  in  rosette  form, 
smothering  all  other  growth ;  petioles  margined,  rather  short,  with 
tufts  of  brown  hair  at  the  base.  Scapes  slender,  one  to  two  feet  in 
length,  the  spikes  at  the  summit  one  to  three  inches  long,  cylindric, 
densely  flowered ;  the  flowers  are  rather  showy,  with  green  scari- 
ous-margined  calyx-lobes,  four  parted  white  corolla  and  four  large, 
yellowish  anthers  dangling  on  purple  filaments ;  also  they  are 
sweet-scented.  Capsule  oblong,  obtuse,  two-  to  four-seeded,  the 
seeds  concave  on  the  face. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Rib  Grass. 

LARGE-BRACTED   PLANTAIN 

Plantago  aristdta,  Michx. 

Other  Engish  names:  Western  Buckhorn,  Bristly  Buckhorn,  Western 

Ripple  Grass. 

Native.     Annual  and  winter  annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  May  to  October. 
Seed-time:   June  to  November. 
Range:    Ontario  to  British  Columbia  and  Alaska,  southward  to 

Louisiana,  Texas,  and  New  Mexico.     Locally  established  in  most 

of  the  Eastern  States  and  becoming  frequent. 
Habitat :   Grass  and  clover  fields. 

More  prolific  than  any  of  the  foregoing  species,  an  average  plant 
producing  about  three  thousand  seeds.  The  rapid  widening  of  its 


PLANT  AGIN  ACE  AE   (PLANTAIN  FAMILY) 


395 


range  in  recent  years  is  due  almost  entirely  to  transportation  in 
baled  hay  and  to  the  impurity  of  commercial  seeds,  especially  those 
of  the  red  and  alsike  clovers. 

Leaves  densely  tufted,  linear,  long  and  grass-like,  dark  green, 
softly  hairy,  three-nerved,  with  short,  margined  petioles,  growing 
from  a  somewhat  thickened  root  which  bores  straight  downward 
into  the  soil  for  several  inches.  Scapes 
erect,  eight  to  fifteen  inches  high,  exceed- 
ing the  leaves ;  spikes  densely  flowered, 
cylindric,  two  to  six  inches  in  length ;  the 
bracts,  which  subtend  the  flowers,  are  a 
half-inch  to  an  inch  long,  ascending,  softly 
hairy.  Capsules  oblong-ovoid,  each  con- 
taining two  seeds,  which  are  nearly  black 
but  appear  gray  from  a  coat  of  dried 
mucilage,  boat-shaped  and  hollowed  on 
the  flattened  inner  face;  they  have  also 
a  transverse  ring  around  the  outer  surface 
at  the  point  of  opening  of  the  pyxis,  the 
seeds  falling  away  with  the  cover,  which 
is  winged  with  the  persistent  papery  co- 
rolla, enabling  the  seeds  to  be  carried 
a  short  distance  by  the  wind,  so  that  in 
the  second  season  after  its  introduction 

the  plant  is  usually  found  covering  the 

,    .        ,  ,      .  ii-  FIG.     274.  — Large- 

ground   in    dense    colonies,    choking    out   bracted  Piantain  (Piantago 

nearly  all  other  growth.     Also  the  long  aristata).    x  J. 
vitality  of  the  seeds  makes  the  weed  a 

very  persistent  one  when  the  ground  has  been  once  befouled. 
(Fig.  274.) 

Means  of  control 

The  plant  is  so  grass-like  that  it  is  not  noticeable  until  the 
flower-spikes  appear  and  these  should  immediately  be  cut  in  order 
to  prevent  the  ripening  of  any  seed.  If  the  infestation  is  new  and 
the  area  not  too  great,  hand-pulling  and  burning  is  the  best  remedy. 
But  land  badly  seeded  will  require  a  series  of  cultivated  crops  in 
order  to  cleanse  it. 


396  RUBIACEAE  (MADDER  FAMILY) 

SANDWORT   PLANTAIN 
Plantago  arenaria,  W.  and  K. 

Other  English  names:  Whorled  Plantain,  Sand- 
wort. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:    All  summer. 

Seed-time:   Until  bloom  is  checked  by  frost. 

Range:  Local  in  several  states  of  the  Middle 
West. 

Habitat :   Grasslands. 

This  is  the  most  lately  imported  member  of 
the  Plantain  Family,  brought  to  this  country  in 
clover  seed  from  Central  Europe.  It  is  not  yet 
sufficiently  well  known  to  predict  its  character 
as  a  weed,  but,  judging  it  by  the  qualities  of 
nearly  related  plants,  its  prompt  destruction 
wherever  noticed  may  be  strongly  recommended. 

Stem  six  to  fifteen  inches  tall,  at  first  simple 
but  later  diffusely  branched,  hairy,  and  some- 
what viscid.  Leaves  opposite  or  whorled,  linear, 
entire,  sessile,  one  to  three  inches  long.  Spikes 
numerous,  on  slender  axillary  peduncles  some- 
what longer  than  the  leaves ;  small  and  bluntly 

FIG.    275.  —  oblong.     Capsule  contains  but  one  seed,  which  is 

Sandwort  .Plantain  .     .     ,  111  i 

(Plantago  arena-  dark  brown,   canoe-shaped,  and  grooved  on  one 

ria).    x  J.  side.     (Fig.  275.) 

BLUE  FIELD   MADDER 

Sherdrdia  arvensis,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Spurwort,  Herb  Sherard. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  July. 

Seed-time:    July  to  August. 

Range:   Nova  Scotia  to  Ontario  and  Michigan,  southward  to  New 

Jersey  and  Ohio. 
Habitat:   Clover  fields  and  meadows. 

An  immigrant  from  Europe,  brought  to  this  country  in  impure 
clover  seed  and  increasing  its  range  by  the  same  agency.     The  fleshy 


RUBIACEAE  (MADDER  FAMILY)  397 

roots,  though  much  inferior  to  the  true  Madder,  are  sometimes 
used  for  the  production  of  a  red  dye. 

Stems  numerous,  tufted,  three  to  ten  inches  long,  some  erect 
and  some  spreading  on  the  ground,  very  slender,  square,  and 
rough-hairy  on  the  angles.  Leaves  about  a 
half-inch  long,  narrow,  rough-edged,  sharp- 
pointed,  sessile,  and  whorled  in  fours,  fives,  or 
sixes.  Flowers  very  small,  in  dense  terminal 
clusters  or  heads,  surrounded  by  an  involucral 
whorl  of  spiny-pointed,  leaf-like  bracts ;  they 
are  blue  (sometimes  pink),  the  corollas  fun- 
nel-shaped, with  four  or  five  spreading  lobes, 
and  as  many  stamens  as  lobes,  inserted  on 
the  tube,  the  anthers  exserted ;  style  two- 
parted  at  summit.  Ovary  below  the  flower, 
two-celled  and  two-seeded,  forming  twin  car- 
pels which  are  indehiscent  and  crowned  by 
the  persistent,  rough-hairy,  four-  to  six-lobed 
calyx.  (Fig.  276.) 

Means  of  control 

Clover   fields   and   meadows   infested  with       FIG.    276.  —  Blue 

this  weed  should  be  mowed  very  early,  before    Fi*ld  Madde^  (sher- 
,       „  .  P         j       T>  •  1     •,  arena  arvensis).     X  f. 

the  formation  of  seed.     Being  annual,  it  can 

thus  be  driven  out  in  a  year  or  two,  if  seeds  are  not  allowed  to 
foul  the  ground. 

GOOSE-GRASS,   OR   CLEAVERS 
Galium  Aparlne,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Scratch  Grass,  Grip  Grass,  Cling  Rascal, 

Catchweed,  Hedgeburs,  Sweethearts. 
Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   May  to  September. 
Seed-time:   July  to  November. 

Range :  New  Brunswick  to  Alaska,  southward  to  Florida  and  Texas. 
Habitat :   Rich  soil ;   fence  rows  and  thickets. 

A  worthless  weed,  and  sometimes  a  serious  pest  to  the  wool- 
grower,  who  finds  the  quality  of  his  fleeces  cheapened  by  its  tiny 
burs. 


398  RUBIACEAE  (MADDER  FAMILY} 

Stems  many-branched,  ridged,  and  square,  two  to  five  feet  long, 
very  slender  and  too  weak  to  support  themselves,  so  that  they 
clamber  over  other  plants,  clinging  by  means  of  backward-turning 
prickles  on  the  stem  angles.  Leaves  in  whorls  of  sixes  or  eights, 
one  to  two  inches  long,  narrowly  spatulate,  bristle-pointed,  the 
margins  and  midribs  rough  with  short,  stiff  hairs.  Flowers  very 
small,  usually  in  groups  of  two  to  four  in  the 
upper  axils.  Corollas  four-lobed,  white,  with 
four  stamens  inserted  on  the  tube  and  two 
styles.  Fruits  small,  twinned  globular  burs 
about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  broad,  covered  with 
short,  hooked  bristles.  (Fig.  277.) 

Means  of  control 

Since  the  plant  is  an  annual,  if  Galium  thick- 
ets are  cleaned  out  in  the  spring  before  the  first 
burs  form,  the  ground  must  soon  be  rid  of  their 
presence. 

ROUGH  BEDSTRAW 

Galium  asprellum,  Michx. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 

Seed-time:  July  to  September. 

Range:  Newfoundland   to   Ontario,  Minnesota, 
FIG.     277.  —  and  Nebraska,  southward  to  Missouri  and  the 

Goose-grass    or  Carolinas. 

Cleavers   (Galium         Habitat:   Alluvial  ground;   fence  rows,  thickets 
Aparine).  along  streams. 

A  vexation  to  the  wool -grower  in  the  autumn,  when  the  vines 
have  matured  and  become  brittle;  broken  bits  of  the  square, 
hooked  stems  work  into  and  cling  to  the  fleeces  of  the  sheep,  often 
transporting  whole  clusters  of  the  seeds  to  new  ground,  from  which 
the  plants  are  difficult  to  dislodge  because  of  their  perennial  roots. 

Stems  two  to  six  feet  long,  branching  from  the  base,  weak  and 
reclining  on  bushes  and  other  plants,  clinging  by  means  of  down- 
ward-curving bristles  on  the  stem  angles.  Leaves  usually  about  an 
inch  long,  whorled  in  fives  or  sixes  or  occasionally  in  fours,  oblong- 


BUBIAGEAE  (MADDER  FAMILY) 


spatulate,  bristle-pointed,  the  margins  and  midribs  also  bristly 
with  short,  stiff  hairs.  Flowers  similar  to  the  preceding  species  in 
structure,  white,  minute  but  very  numerous,  in  open  cymose  clusters 
at  the  ends  of  the  many  branches  and  in  the  upper  axils.  The  twin 
fruits  are  smooth. 

Means  of  control 

Hand-pull  the  vines  when  in  first  bloom.  If  the  patches  are  not 
too  numerous,  it  will  pay  to  grub  out  the  roots  and  save  further 
trouble. 

SMOOTH  BUTTONWEED 
Spermacoce  gldbra,  Miehx. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  June  to  September. 
Seed-time:  August  to  October. 
Range :  Ohio  to  Illinois,  southward  to  Florida, 

Arkansas,  and  Texas. 
Habitat:   Wet  meadows,  banks  of  streams, 

and  ditches. 

Stem  ten  to  twenty  inches  tall,  rather 
stout,  smooth,  four-sided,  sometimes  simple 
and  erect  or  often  diffusely  branched,  the 
branches  spreading,  the  lower  ones  decum- 
bent. Leaves  one  to  three  inches  long, 
opposite,  their  bases  connected  by  bristly, 
membranous  stipules,  entire,  elliptic,  pointed 
at  each  end,  with  smooth  surface  but  rough 

edges.  Flowers  in  dense  terminal  and  axil-  FIG.  278.  — Smooth 
lary  whorled  clusters,  the  corollas  funnel-  Buttonweed  (Sperma- 
,  .  ,  .  coce  glabra).  X  \. 

form,  four-lobed,  white,  less  than  a  quarter- 
inch  long;  stamens  four,  inserted  on  the  tube;  style  two-cleft; 
calyx  also  four-lobed,  its  acute  teeth  persistently  crowning  the 
fruit,  which  is  two-celled;  when  ripe  the  carpels  separate,  one 
carrying  with  it  the  partition,  leaving  the  other  bare  on  the  inner 
face.  Seeds  small,  hard,  black,  oblong  to  wedge-shaped,  rounded 
on  the  back,  with  flat  inner  face ;  too  often  an  impurity  of  southern 
grass  and  clover  seed.  (Fig.  278.) 


400 


RUBIACEAE  (MADDER  FAMILY) 


Means  of  control 

Sow  clean  seed.  Harvest  infested  meadows  before  the  flowers 
mature,  particularly  if  the  hay  is  intended  for  market.  Ground 
badly  fouled  with  the  weed  should  be  put  under  cultivation  for  the 
purpose  of  destroying  its  perennial  roots.  Good  drainage  is  a  dis- 
couragement to  the  growth  of  this  plant,  for  it  prefers  the  soil  damp. 


ROUGH   BUTTONWEED 

Diodia  teres,  Walt. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:  Connecticut  to  Missouri,  southward  to  Florida,  Texas, 
and  New  Mexico. 

Habitat:  Dry  soil ;  cultivated  ground,  grain  and  clover  fields,  road- 
sides, and  waste  places. 

This  plant  is  very  resistant  to  drought,  having  a  slender  taproot, 
often  nearly  a  foot  long,  fringed  with  fine  feeding  rootlets.  Stems 
several  from  the  same  root,  four  inches 
to  two  feet  in  length,  ascending  or  some- 
times prostrate,  usually  rough-hairy. 
Leaves  opposite,  lance-shaped  to  linear, 
rough-hairy  on  both  sides,  acute,  rigid, 
sessile,  the  margins  revolute  in  dry 
weather.  Flowers  usually  solitary  in  the 
axils,  the  corolla  funnel-form,  five-lobed, 
about  a  quarter-inch  long,  pale  purple ; 
stamens  four,  with  anthers  exserted ; 
style  with  two-parted  stigma.  Fruit 
small,  obovoid  or  top-shaped,  about  one- 
sixth  of  an  inch  long,  hard  and  rough- 
hairy,  crowned  with  the  four  persistent 
calyx-teeth ;  it  has  two  or  occasionally 
three  cells,  and  when  ripe  usually  splits 
into  two  closed  carpels.  These  seeds  are  a  frequent  impurity  of 
southern  grain  and  clover  seed ;  and  the  weed  is  most  undesirable 
company  for  those  crops,  as  it  absorbs  much  of  the  soil  fertility. 
(Fig.  279.) 


FIG.   279.  —  Rough   Button 
weed  (Diodia  teres).     XT- 


VAPRIFOLIACEAE  (HONEYSUCKLE  FAMILY)  401 

Means  of  control 

Mow  infested  meadows  before  the  development  of  seed ;  enrich 
the  soil  for  the  encouragement  of  the  clover,  aiding  it  to  crowd  out 
the  intruder.  As  soon  as  the  crop  is  removed  from  corn  and  potato 
ground,  sow  with  winter  annuals.  Follow  grain  with  a  crop  re- 
quiring frequent  and  late-continued  hoe-culture. 


HORSE   GENTIAN 
Tridsteum  perfoliatum,  L. 

Other  English  names :  Feverwort,  Wild 

Ipecac,  Wild  C9ffee,  Tinker's  Weed. 

Native.      Perennial.      Propagates  by 


Time  of  bloom:   May  to  June. 

Seed-time:  August  to  October. 

Range:  Massachusetts  to  Minnesota 
and  Nebraska,  southward  to  Ala- 
bama and  Kansas. 

Habitat :  Rich  soil ;  borders  of  fields, 
thickets,  open  woods. 

A  plant  formerly  in  high  esteem  for 
its  medicinal  qualities,  but  now  merely 
a  weed.  Stem  two  to  four  feet  tall, 
erect,  simple,  softly  hairy,  and  some- 
what viscid.  Leaves  three  to  eight 
inches  in  length,  opposite,  joined  at 
the  base,  ovate,  pointed,  entire,  softly 
hairv,  tapering  to  margined,  connate  F/°\  280.  — Horse  Gentian 

*r  I  171  -11  -i         (Tnosteum  perfohatum) .     X  i. 

petioles.       r  lowers     axillary,     sessile, 

single  or  clustered,  brownish  purple ;  corolla  tubular,  more  than 
a  half -inch  long,  with  five  unequal  lobes,  five  stamens  inserted 
on  the  tube,  with  bearded  filaments  and  included  anthers ;  style 
usually  three-parted ;  calyx-lobes  very  narrow,  long-pointed,  per- 
sistent. Ovary  three-celled,  the  fruit  an  orange-red  drupe,  nearly 
a  half-inch  long,  containing  three  bony  nutlets.  (Fig.  280.) 

Means  of  control 

Close  cutting  below  the  crown  before  any  fruits  mature. 
2o 


402 


VALERIANACEAE  (VALERIAN  FAMILY) 


CORN   SALAD 

Valerianella  Locusta,  Beteke. 

Other  English  names:    Lamb's  Lettuce,  Milk  Grass. 

Introduced.     Annual  or  winter  annual.     Propagates  by 

Time  of  bloom:   April  to  July. 

Seed-time:   June  to  September. 

Range:   Maine  to  Ontario,  and  southward  to  Virginia. 

Habitat:    Old  fields,  meadows,  and  waste  places. 


This  plant  is  an  immigrant  from  Europe  and  an  escape  from 
gardens,  where  it  was  cultivated  for  salads  and  greens  under  the 
names  of  Fetticus,  Veticost,  and  White 
Potherb.  It  is  very  hardy,  enduring  cold 
so  well  that  in  mild  climates  or  mild 
winters  it  can  be  gathered  and  used 
throughout  that  season,  a  quality  that 
helps  it  to  survive  many  hardships  as 
a  weed.  (Fig.  281.) 

Stems  six  inches  to  a  foot  high, 
branching  by  repeated  forking.  Leaves 
opposite,  pale  green,  succulent,  tender, 
the  lower  ones  growing  in  a  tuft  about 
the  base  of  the  stalk,  blunt-pointed  or 
rounded  at  the  tips,  tapering  toward 
the  base;  stem-leaves  sessile,  smaller, 
and  more  pointed.  Flowers  very  tiny, 
growing  in  small,  flat  clusters  hardly  a 
half-inch  broad  ;  the  corollas  pale  blue 
or  violet,  funnel  form,  with  five  spread- 
ing unequal  lobes ;  stamens  usually  three, 
and  style  with  three-lobed  stigma. 
Seeds  very  small,  contained  in  a  three- 
celled  capsule  of  which  two  cells  are 
r"-S^S^.<r"  always  empty.  Another  species  six  to 
eighteen  inches  tall  with  white  flowers, 

known  as  the  BEAKED  CORN  SALAD  (Valerianella  radiata,  Dufr.), 
ranges  from  Massachusetts  to  Minnesota  and  southward  to  Texas 
and  Florida,  infesting  low  meadows  and  other  moist  soils.  Cattle 


DIPSAC'ACEAE  (TEASEL  FAMILY)  403 

eat  these  weeds  readily,  but  they  are  less  nutritious  than  grasses 
and  do  not  make  good  hay.  The  seeds  are  said  to  retain  their 
vitality  for  about  five  years  when  buried  in  the  soil. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  production  of  seed  by  early  and  frequent  cutting. 
Where  practicable,  put  the  ground  under  cultivation  for  a  season 
in  order  to  stir  dormant  seeds  into  life  and  destroy  them  with  the 
needed  tillage. 

TEASEL 

Dipsacus  sylvestris,  Huds. 

Other  English  names :  Card  Thistle,  Water 

Thistle,  Gipsy  Combs. 
Introduced.      Biennial.      Propagates  by 

seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 
Seed-time:   August  to  October. 
Range:   Maine  and  Ontario  to  Virginia, 

westward  to  Michigan. 
Habitat :   Pastures,  roadsides,  fence  rows, 

and  waste  places. 

Stems  stout,  erect,  strongly  ridged, 
branching,  beset  with  spines,  three  to  six 
feet  tall,  springing  from  a  stout  taproot 
often  more  than  a  foot  long  with  many 
feeding  rootlets.  Root-leaves  of  the  pre- 
vious year's  growth  tufted  in  a  broad  and 
very  flat  rosette,  oblong  to  lance-shaped, 
obtuse,  tapering  at  the  base,  scallop- 
toothed,  the  surface  wrinkled  and  deep 
green  except  the  veins  and  midrib,  which  (^Xpwew  s^hestris).  C?|. 
are  nearly  white  and  beset  with  spines ; 

stem-leaves  opposite  and  often  united  at  the  base,  forming  cups 
which  retain  water,  the  rigid  midribs  spiny  on  the  under  side. 
Flowers  in  large,  dense,  solitary  heads,  sometimes  nearly  four  inches 
long  and  two  inches  in  thickness,  protected  by  long,  upcurving, 
spiny  involucral  bracts  and  lifted  on  long,  spiny  peduncles,  terminal 
and  axillary ;  corollas  lilac  or  pinkish  purple,  tubular,  four-lobed, 


404  CUCUEBITACEAE  (GOURD  FAMILY) 

fragrant,  each  subtended  by  a  chaffy  bract  tapering  to  an  awn 
longer  than  the  flower ;  stamens  four,  inserted  on  the  tube  of  the 
corolla ;  ovary  inferior,  one-celled.  Some  flower  communities  pro- 
gress in  their  bloom  from  the  base  upward,  others  from  the  top 
downward;  but  Teasels  girdle  the  middle  of  the  heads  with  the 
first  flowers  and  proceed  both  ways,  though  the  last  flowers  of 
September  are  likely  to  be  as  round  as  clover-heads  and  produce 
all  their  blossoms  at  once  with  an  air  which  says,  "  Time's  up  !  All 
out  1"  Fruit  a  hard,  wedge-shaped,  square,  black,  grooved  achene, 
about  a  quarter-inch  long.  (Fig.  282.) 

Means  of  control 

Cut  first-year  rosettes  from  the  roots  with  sharp  hoe  or  spud, 
in  autumn  or  early  spring.  Flowering  stalks  should  be  pulled  or 
closely  cut  before  the  earliest  heads  ripen  seed. 

WILD   GOURD 

Cuctirbita  fcetidissima,  H.  B.  K. 
(Cuctirbita  perennis,  Gray) 

Other  English  names:    Missouri   Gourd,   Calabazilla,   Fetid  Wild 

Pumpkin. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  April  to  July. 
Seed-time:  July  to  November. 

Range:  Nebraska  to  California,  southward  to  Texas  and  Mexico. 
Habitat :   Dry  or  sandy  soil ;   fields  and  waste  places. 

Root  yellow  inside,  carrot-like,  very  thick  and  fleshy,  often  more 
than  six  inches  in  diameter  and  sometimes  exceeding  five  feet  in 
length.  Stem  stout,  angled,  ridged,  rough-hairy,  many-branched, 
fifteen  to  twenty-five  feet  long,  trailing  and  rooting  at  the  joints  or 
climbing  by  means  of  branching  tendrils.  Leaves  alternate,  rather 
thick,  four  inches  to  a  foot  in  length,  ovate-triangular,  long-pointed, 
usually  truncate  at  base  or  sometimes  heart-shaped,  rough  above, 
gray-hairy  beneath,  sharply  toothed,  with  rough-hairy  petioles  less 
than  half  as  long  as  the  blades.  The  whole  plant  has  a  disagree- 
able, fetid  odor,  especially  when  bruised..  Flowers  solitary  in  the 
axils  and  unisexual ;  calyx  five-lobed,  ridged,  and  bristly ;  corolla 


CUCURBITACEAE  (GOURD  FAMILY)  405 

bright  yellow,  bell-shaped,  three  or  four  inches  long  and  nearly  as 
broad,  deeply  five-lobed  with  pointed  and  recurving  tips,  ridged, 
veined,  and  bearded  inside  and  out;  sterile  flowers  have  three 
stamens,  two  of  which  have  two-celled  anthers,  the  other  one- 
celled  ;  fertile  flowers  have  one  pistil,  with  short,  thick  style  and 
three-lobed  stigmas.  Ovary  three  celled,  the  fruit  globose  or 
broadly  ovoid,  about  three  inches  in  diameter,  with  a  hard,  smooth 
rind,  yellow  or  pale  green  variegated  with  yellow,  the  pulp 
within  fibrous  and  very  bitter,  the  seeds  numerous,  oval,  flattened, 
and  lying  horizontally  in  the  triple  cells. 

Means  of  control 

These  troublesome  plants  are  most  readily  and  certainly  de- 
stroyed by  strong  hot  brine,  caustic  soda,  or  carbolic  acid,  applied 
to  the  crown  of  the  huge,  fleshy  root. 

STAR   CUCUMBER 
Sicyos  angulatus,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Nimble  Kate,  One-seeded  Bur  Cucumber. 
Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 
Seed-time :  August  to  October. 

Range:   Quebec  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  Florida  and  Texas. 
Habitat :   Moist,  rich  soil ;   banks  of  streams,  fence  rows,  thickets, 
waste  places. 

A  vine  of  amazingly  rapid  growth;  Dr.  Coulter  mentions  one 
that  climbed  up  a  neighboring  tree  to  a  distance  of  sixty-three  feet. 
Sometimes,  on  bottom  lands  which  have  been  flooded,  many  seeds 
lie  dormant  until  the  ground  is  put  under  cultivation,  when  they 
suddenly  spring  to  life,  binding  corn  or  tobacco  rows  or  other  vege- 
tation into  tangled  thickets. 

Stem  pale  green,  slender  but  very  tough  and  fibrous,  angled, 
more  or  less  viscidly  hairy.  Leaves  very  large  (the  lower  ones 
sometimes  ten  inches  across),  alternate,  thin,  rough  on  both  sides, 
heart-shaped  at  base,  five-nerved  and  five-pointed,  finely  and 
sharply  toothed,  with  rather  short,  hairy  petioles ;  opposite  each  leaf 
is  a  three-  to  five-parted  and  spirally  curled  tendril,  on  a  much 


406 


CUCURBITACEAE  (GOURD  FAMILY) 


longer  petiole.  Flowers  monoecious, 
the  staminate  ones  in  small  racemes 
on  long,  slender,  axillary  peduncles ; 
calyx  cup-shaped,  five-toothed  ;  co- 
rolla with  five  lobes  united  at  base, 
white  striped  with  green ;  the  three 
stamens  united  and  the  anthers 
cohering  in  a  small,  club-like  mass ; 
below,  but  in  the  same  axils,  are  the 
smaller  pistillate  flowers,  in  rounded 
clusters  on  much  shorter  peduncles. 
Ovary  one-celled,  the  style  short  and 
slender  with  three  stigmas  ;  fruits  in 
clusters  of  three  to  ten,  each  con- 
taining a  single  seed,  ovoid,  covered 
with  prickly,  barbed  bristles ;  the 
arrangement  of  the  clusters  is  often 
star-shaped.  (Fig.  283.) 


Means  of  control 

When  the  weed  invades  a  field,  or 
in  any  place  where  its  growth  is  harmful,  the  roots  should  be  cut 
from  the  stem  or  jerked  from  the  soil,  leaving  the  vines  to  relax 
and  wither,  for  it  is  useless  to  try  to  untangle  the  clinging  tendrils. 


FIG.  283.  —  Star  Cucumber  (Si- 
cyos  angulatus).     X  \. 


CLIMBING  WILD   CUCUMBER 

Echinocystis  lobata,  T.  &  G. 
(Micrdmpelis  lobata,  Greene) 

Other  English  names:    Wild  Balsam  Apple,   Mock  Apple,  Four- 

seeded  Bur  Cucumber. 
Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 
Seed-time:  August  to  October. 
Range:    Nova  Scotia  to  the  Saskatchewan,  southward  to  Georgia 

and  Colorado. 
Habitat :  Rich  soil ;  fence  rows,  thickets,  and  along  streams. 

A  rapid  climber,  often  cultivated  as  a  quick  shade  for  an  arbor 
or  as  a  cover  for  some  eyesore  of  fence  or  building.     Stem  fifteen 


CUCURBITACEAE  (GOURD  FAMILY) 


407 


to  thirty  feet  long,  angular,  grooved,  smooth  except  for  a  few  hairs 

at  the  joints.     Leaves  alternate  thin,  pale  green,  slightly  rough 

on  both  sides  with  five  triangular,  pointed  lobes  or  occasionally 

three-  or  seven-lobed,  with  slim,  / 

rather  short   petioles  ;    opposite 

each  leaf  a  three-forked  tendril 

with   a   much  longer  footstalk. 

Flowers  of  two  kinds,  the  stami- 

nate  ones  in  long  compound  axil- 

lary racemes,  the  corollas  deeply 

five-  to  six-parted,  star-shaped, 

white,    and    fragrant;    stamens 

three,    with    cohering    anthers  ; 

below,  in  the  same  axil,  are  the 

inconspicuous  pistillate  flowers, 

usually  solitary,  but  sometimes 

in  twos  or  threes  ;    ovary  two- 

celled,    with   slender   style   and 

broad,       hemispheric       stigma. 

Fruit  ovoid,  nearly  two  inches 

long,  covered  with  weak  spines, 

two-celled,  each  cavity  contain- 

ing    two     rough-coated     seeds 


nearly  an  inch  in  length;    these 


(Echmocystis  lobata).      X 


seeds  are  discharged  somewhat 

forcibly   by   the  sudden   bursting  of  the   "apple"   at    the    top. 

(Fig.  284.) 

Means  of  control 

The  plant  is  seldom  a  nuisance  except  when  spreading  in  home 
grounds.  There  the  pistillate  flowers  should  be  nipped  out  before 
maturity  —  unless  one  prefers  to  pull  cucumber  seedlings  from 
several  outlying  yards  of  ground  for  several  seasons.  Occasion- 
ally it  may  be  found,  like  the  preceding  species,  invading  bottom 
land  corn  and  tobacco  fields.  There  it  should  receive  the  same 
treatment  as  recommended  for  Nimble  Kate,  of  course  before  the 
first  of  the  prickly  "  balsam  apples  "  approach  maturity. 


408 


CAMPANULACEAE  (BLUEBELL  FAMILY) 


VENUS'S  LOOKING-GLASS 

Speculdria  perfolidta,  A.  DC. 
(Legouzia  perfolidta,  Britton) 

Other  English  name:    Clasping  Bell-flower. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:    May  to  August. 

Seed-time:   June  to  September. 

Range:    Ontario  to  British  Columbia,  southward  to  Florida  and 

Mexico. 
Habitat :   Sterile  open  ground ;   thin  meadows,  upland  pastures,. 

Grazing  cattle  do  not  like  the  taste  of  this  plant,  and  it  is  usually 
left  to  reproduce  itself,  even  where  good  forage  is  scarce  —  as  it  is 
likely  to  be  on  ground  preferred  by  the  weed. 

Stem  six  to  eighteen  inches  long,  slender,  weak 
and  usually  prostrate,  with  rough-hairy  angles  or 
sometimes  smooth,  simple  or  branching  near  the  base, 
very  leafy.  Leaves  alternate,  rounded  or  broadly 
ovate,  clasping  the  stem  by  a  heart-shaped  base,  the 
edges  rather  finely  toothed.  Flowers  sessile  in  the 
axils,  solitary  or  sometimes  in  twos  or  threes ;  the 
lower  and  earlier  ones  are  rudimentary,  without 
corolla,  and  these  never  open  but  are  self-fertilized  in 
the  bud,  producing  much  seed  which  is  often  ripened 
and  sown  before  the  upper  flowers  expand  their  five- 
lobed,  violet-blue  corollas,  which  are  also  fertile ; 
stamens  five  with  thin,  flattened  filaments,  shorter 
than  the  anthers ;  style  with  three-lobed  stigma. 
Capsule  oblong  or  narrowly  top-shaped,  three-celled, 
splitting  below  the  middle.  Seed  brown,  lens-shaped, 
often  an  impurity  of  clover  and  grass  seed.  (Fig.  285.) 

-FIG.iJSO.          ,,  /•  ,       7 

Venus's     Means  oj  control 

glass  (S»e-  Enrich  the  ground  by  liming,  manuring,  and  fur- 
culariaper-  nishing  it  with  humus,  which  will  enable  it  to  retain 
foliata).  moisture  and  support  the  growth  of  better  plants. 
Hand-pulling  of  small  and  newly  infested  areas  is  a 
paying  operation  but  the  work  must  be  done  before  the  develop- 
ment of  the  inconspicuous  early  flowers. 


CAMPANULACEAE  (BLUEBELL  FAMILY) 


409 


CREEPING  BELLFLOWER 
Campdnula  rapunculoldes,  L 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom :   July  to  August. 

Seed-time:   August  to  September. 

Range:  New  Brunswick  to  Ontario,  southward  to  Pennsylvania  and 

Ohio. 
Habitat :   Fields  and  roadsides. 

An  escape  from  gardens.  The  plant  does  all  its  "creeping" 
underground  by  means  of  slender,  horizontal  rootstocks.  Above 
ground  it  sends  up  numerous  stems  one  to  three  feet  tall,  rather 
stout,  smooth  or  sometimes  finely  hairy, 
simple  or  with  one  or  two  branches  near 
the  top.  Leaves  alternate,  long-pointed 
ovate,  heart-shaped  at  base,  irregularly 
toothed,  the  lower  ones  with  petioles,  the 
upper  ones  sessile,  diminishing  in  size  as 
they  ascend  the  stalk.  Flowers  in  a  slen- 
der, one-sided,  bracted  raceme,  each  corolla 
a  large,  five-pointed,  nodding,  purple  bell, 
an  inch  or  more  long,  the  "clapper"  be- 
ing its  long,  white  style  with  three-cleft, 
curving  stigma ;  stamens  five,  alternate 
with  the  corolla  lobes.  The  flowers  unfold 
from  the  base  upward,  leaving  behind  a 
string  of  globular,  three-celled  smooth  cap- 
sules, opening  by  three  valves  at  the  base. 
Seeds  small  and  very  numerous.  (Fig.  286.) 

Means  of  control 

The  plant  forms  spreading  patches,  which, 
if  not  too  large,  may  be  grubbed  out,  care 
being  taken  to  get  every  shred  of  the  root- 
stocks  ;  or  the  latter  may  be  starved  by 
close  and  repeated  cuttings  throughout  the 
growing  season,  salt  being  used  on  the  shorn  Jfc**  <c< 
surfaces  in  order  to  check  new  growth.  rapunculoides) .  x  1. 


410  LOBELIACEAE  (LOBELIA  FAMILY) 

TALL  BELLFLOWER 
Campdnula  americana,  L. 

Native.     Annual  or  biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  June  to  August. 

Seed-lime:   August  to  September. 

Range:   New  Brunswick  to  South  Dakota,  southward  to  Georgia, 

Arkansas,  and  Kansas. 
Habitat :  Moist,  rich  soil ;  woodland  borders,  thickets  along  streams, 

damp  grasslands. 

One  of  the  most  stately  and  handsome  of  our  wild  flowers,  a 
weed  only  when  it  enters  the  meadows  and  pastures.  Stem  erect, 
slender,  finely  grooved,  sometimes  attaining  six  feet  in  height  but 
oftener  two  or  three  feet  tall,  usually  simple  but  sometimes  with 
slender  ascending  branches.  Leaves  large,  thin,  dark  green,  the 
lower  ones  ovate  with  rounded  or  abruptly  narrowed  bases  and 
petioles  nearly  half  as  long  as  the  blades,  the  upper  ones  oblong 
to  lance-shaped,  short-petioled  or  sessile ;  all  toothed  and  pointed, 
rather  drooping  on  the  stalk.  Flowers  in  terminal  racemes  one 
to  two  feet  long,  interrupted  and  leafy ;  corolla  pale  blue  or  almost 
white,  about  an  inch  broad,  the  five  deep  lobes  spread  nearly 
wheel-shaped,  their  edges  slightly  wavy ;  style  very  much  exserted 
and  declined,  with  its  three-cleft  tip  curved  upward.  Capsule 
three-celled,  slenderly  top-shaped,  smooth,  erect,  sessile,  opening  by 
valves  near  the  summit. 

Means  of  control 

Close  cutting  before  the  earliest  flowers  mature. 

GREAT  LOBELIA 

Lobelia  syphilitica,  L. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagated  by  seeds  and  by  short  offsets. 
Time  of  bloom :   July  to  October. 
Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range:   Maine  and  Ontario  to  South  Dakota  and  Colorado,  south- 
ward to  Georgia  and  Louisiana. 
Habitat :   Swamps,  wet  meadows,  and  along  streams  and  ditches. 

Like  all  its  family,  the  juices  of  this  plant  are  acrid  and  poison- 
ous. Stem  one  to  three  feet  tall,  rather  stout,  slightly  angled, 


LOBELIACEAE  (LOBELIA  FAMILY)  411 

usually  without  branches.  Leaves  large,  alternate,  thin,  dark  green, 
oblong,  pointed  at  both  ends,  somewhat  hairy,  irregularly  and 
rather  finely  toothed,  sessile  except  the  lowermost.  Flowers  in 
narrow,  crowded,  leafy,  bracted  racemes  sometimes  six  inches  or 
more  in  length,  deep  blue  or  occasionally  white ;  corolla  nearly  an 
inch  long,  the  tube  cleft  to  the  base  on  the  upper  side,  the  two 
lobes  of  its  upper  lip  acute  but  the  three  lower  ones  longer  and 
somewhat  obtuse ;  stamens  five,  united  into  a  tube  around  the 
style,  with  three  of  the  anthers  larger  than  the  other  two ;  calyx 
hairy,  with  narrow,  long-pointed  lobes,  the  sinuses  with  large, 
deflexed  auricles.  The  many-seeded,  two-celled  capsules  float 
easily  on  water. 

Means  of  control 

Hand-pulling  or  grubbing  from  pastures  and  meadows.  Drain- 
age will  usually  expel  the'plant  from  the  soil,  for  it  demands 
moisture. 

INDIAN   TOBACCO 
Lobelia  inflata,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Wild  Tobacco,  Asthma  Weed,  Bladder-pod, 

Gag-root,  Pukeweed,  Emetic  Root. 
Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   July  to  November. 
Seed-time:  August  until  the  ground  is  snow-covered. 
Range :  Labrador  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  southward  to  Georgia, 

Arkansas,  and  Nebraska. 
Habitat :   Dry  soil ;   meadows,  pastures,  and  grain  fields. 

A  very  poisonous  plant,  and  medicinally  valuable;  collectors 
receive  twenty  cents  a  pound  for  the  seeds  and  three  to  eight 
cents  a  pound  for  dried  leaves  and  tops.  Grazing  animals  seem 
to  know  the  quality  of  its  acrid,  milky  juices,  and  usually  leave 
the  weed  untouched ;  but  sometimes  its  young  shoots  are  eaten 
and  cause  a  sickness  known  as  "slobbers."  The  writer  knows, 
from  the  foolhardy  experiments  of  childhood,  that  the  chewing  of  a 
single  green  "bladder-pod"  will  constrict  the  muscles  of  the  throat 
and  bring  on  most  unpleasant  throes  of  nausea.  (Fig.  287.) 

Stem  six  inches  to  two  feet  high,  rather  stout,  with  many  short 


412 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


FIG.  287.— 
Indian  Tobacco 
(Lobelia  inflate) . 
XJ. 


and  slender  branches  held  nearly  erect,  the  whole 
plant  finely  rough-hairy.  Leaves  alternate,  thin, 
light  green,  long  oval,  with  blunt,  irregular  teeth, 
the  lower  ones  narrowed  to  short  petioles,  the 
upper  ones  much  smaller  and  sessile.  Flowers  in 
spike-like  bracted  racemes,  similar  in  structure  -to 
the  preceding  species,  but  much  smaller,  the  co- 
rollas less  than  a  half-inch  long  and  pale  blue ; 
capsule  much  inflated,  containing  many  small 
dark  brown  seeds. 

Means  of  control 

Hand-pulling  in  pastures  and  meadows.  Sur- 
face cultivation  of  stubbles  after  harvest.  Im- 
provement of  the  soil  by  liming,  manuring,  and 
cultivation,  which  witt-  enable  better  plants  to 
smother  the  weed. 

TALL  IRONWEED   OR  FLAT-TOP 

Verndnia  altissima,  Nutt. 
(Vernbnia  gigantea,  Britton) 
(Verndnia  maxima,  Small) 


Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 
Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range:    New  York  to  Michigan  and  Illinois,  southward  to  Mis- 
souri, Louisiana,  and  Alabama. 
Habitat :   Prairies ;   meadows,  pastures,  and  roadsides. 

This  great  weed  is  the  despair  of  the  prairie  farmer,  who  sees  it 
take  possession  of  his  rich  soil,  appropriating  most  of  the  food  and 
moisture  and  crowding  out  the  grasses ;  the  plant  is  rejected  by  all 
grazing  animals,  even  sheep. 

Stem  four  to  ten  feet  tall,  erect,  strong  and  woody,  branching 
near  the  top,  springing  from  roots  like  thick,  fibrous  cords,  forming 
a  huge  tassel  at  the  base  of  the  stalk  and  penetrating  in  all  direc- 
tions. Leaves  alternate,  narrow  lance-shaped,  thin,  dark  green, 
pointed  at  both  ends,  finely  toothed,  sessile,  usually  smooth  on 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  413 

both  sides.  Heads  in  large,  rather 
loose,  terminal  cymose  clusters,  deep 
reddish  purple;  florets  all  perfect 
and  fertile  with  tubular,  five-lobed 
corollas ;  stamens  five,  united  in  a 
tube  about  the  cleft-tipped  style,  a 
characteristic  of  all  composites ;  in- 
volucre top-shaped,  purple-tinged,  its 
bracts  imbricated  in  several  series, 
closely  appressed.  Achenes  bristly 
ribbed,  with  a  double  pappus,  the 
outer  row  of  short,  very  stiff,  scale- 
like  bristles,  the  inner  row  much 
longer,  of  many  fine,  rough  hairs. 
(Fig.  288.) 

Means  of  control 

In  cultivated  crops  the  perennial 
roots  are  destroyed  by  the  plow  and 
the  following  tillage,  but  in  land 
where  there  is  danger  of  washing,  or 
which  for  other  reasons  is  not  desired 
to  be  put  under  cultivation,  the 
grubbing-hoe  or  the  scythe  must  be  FIG-  288.  —  Tall  Ironweed  (Ver- 
persistently  used.  Cut  closely  in 

May,  repeating  in  June,  and  again  in  August  and  September, 
thus  preventing  all  seed  development  and  exhausting  the  roots 
of  all  sustenance  supplied  by  the  leaf-growth. 

WESTERN   IRONWEED 
Vernbnia  fasciculata,  Michx. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range:    Ohio  to  South  Dakota,  southward  to  New  Mexico  and 

Texas. 
Habitat:   Prairies,  hillsides,  woodland  borders,  meadows,  pastures, 

roadsides,  and  waste  places. 


414 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


FIG.  289.  —  Western  Iron- 
weed  (Vernonia  fasciculata) . 
Xi. 

Habitat:    Dry   prairies; 
waste  places. 


Stems  two  to  six  feet  tall,  erect, 
smooth,  usually  simple.  Leaves  alter- 
nate, narrow  lance-shaped  to  linear, 
numerous,  ascending,  sometimes  finely 
hairy  on  the  upper  surface  but  smooth 
beneath,  sessile,  finely  toothed.  Heads 
very  many,  rather  small,  in  a  compact 
cymose  cluster,  each  containing  about 
twenty  florets,  deep  reddish  purple; 
involucre  bell-shaped,  its  bracts  closely 
appressed.  Achenes  smooth,  the  pappus 
purple-tinged.  (Fig.  289.) 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for 
Tall  Ironweed. 


ILLINOIS  IRONWEED 

Verndnia  illinoensis,  Gleason 

Native.  Perennial.  Propagates  by 
seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range:  Ontario  to  Minnesota,  south- 
ward to  Ohio,  Illinois,  and  Iowa. 

meadows  and   pastures,   roadsides,   and 


Stem  three  to  six  or  more  feet  tall,  rather  stout,  somewhat 
rough.  Leaves  large,  oblong  lance-shaped,  finely  woolly-hairy 
above  and  rough  to  the  touch  beneath,  sharply  toothed.  Heads 
in  a  densely  crowded  cymose  cluster,  many  of  them  sessile  or  on 
very  short  pedicels,  rather  large,  each  containing  about  forty  red- 
dish purple  florets ;  involucre  bell-shaped,  its  bracts  purple- 
tinged,  obtuse,  closely  appressed.  Achenes  slightly  rough-ribbed, 
the  pappus  purplish  brown.  Both  pollen  and  nectar  are  plenti- 
fully supplied  by  all  the  Ironweeds,  and  bumblebees  and  many 
species  of  butterflies  are  attracted  by  the  flowers,  thus  assuring 
their  thorough  cross-fertilization. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Tall  Ironweed. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


415 


WOOLLY   ELEPHANT'S  FOOT 
Elephdntopus  tomentdsus,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Tobacco  Weed,  Devil's  Grandmother. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   June  to  August. 
Seed-time:  August  to  October. 

Range :  Virginia  to  Arkansas,  and  southward  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
Habitat :   Rich  moist  soils ;    woodlands ;    tobacco,  corn,  and  cotton 
fields. 

This  weed  is  fond  of  shade  and  makes  itself  a  special  nuisance  in 
tobacco  fields,  where  the  tall  plants  overshadow  it,  while  its  broad, 
basal,  tufted  leaves  and  deep  roots  absorb  much  of  the  soil's  fertility 
and  are  difficult  to  remove  without  injury  to  the  crop,  of  which 
the  larger,  lower  leaves  are.  the 
most  valuable  part,  and  must  be 
guarded  asmuchaspossibleagainst 
any  mutilation.  (Fig.  290.) 

Stem  erect,  rigid,  hairy,  one  to 
two  feet  high,  simple  or  with  a 
few  forking  branches.  Lower 
leaves  four  to  ten  inches  long, 
two  to  four  inches  wide,  and 
spread  flat  on  the  ground ;  they 
are  broadly  obovate,  blunt- 
pointed,  tapering  to  the  base, 
heavily  veined,  scallop-toothed, 
and  softly  woolly-hairy  all  over. 
Simple  stems  are  usually  leafless, 
but  where  forked  there  is  a  small, 
sessile,  lance-shaped  leaf.  Heads 
two-  to  five-flowered,  the  florets 
all  alike,  fertile,  tubular,  five- 
lobed  but  deeply  cleft  on  the 
inner  side,  pale  purple.  Below 
each  head  are  three  heart-shaped, 
large,  leaf-like,  and  hairy  bracts. 

Achenes  oblong,  ten-ridged,  with     FlQ   290._Hairy  Elephant.8  Foot 
a  pappus  of  stiff,  slender  bristles.        (Elephantopus  tomentosus).    x  i. 


416  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

Means  of  control 

In  crops  where  thorough  and  late  cultivation  may  be  practiced, 
this  weed  is  not  difficult  of  suppression ;  but  in  tobacco  fields, 
where  care  must  be  exercised  in  order  to  keep  the  large  lower 
leaves  of  the  crop  uninjured,  late  tillage  is  a  danger,  and  hand- 
pulling  is  the  only  practicable  way  of  destroying  late-blooming 
plants  before  the  development  of  seed. 


JOE-PYE  WEED 
Eupatorium  purpureum,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Trumpetweed,  Feyerweed,  Purple  Boneset, 

Queen-of-the-Meadow,  Gravel-root,  Kidney-root. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  August  to  September. 
Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range:    New  Brunswick  to   Manitoba, 

southward  to  Florida  and  Texas. 
Habitat:  Damp  meadows,  moist  woods 
and    thickets,   sides    of  streams  and 
ditches. 

Joe  Pye  was  an  Indian  "herb  doctor" 
of  early  days  in  New  England,  who  is 
said  to  have  performed  many  marvelous 
cures,  mostly  with  decoctions  of  this 
herb.  However  that  may  be,  its  woody, 
fibrous,  blackish  roots,  gathered  in  au- 
tumn and  carefully  dried,  are  still  sal- 
able in  the  drug  market  for  two  to  four 
cents  a  pound. 

Stem  round,  smooth  or  sometimes 
finely  grooved,  slender  for  its  height  of 
three  to  ten  feet,  usually  purple,  simple 
or  with  a  few  branches  at  the  top. 
Leaves  arranged  in  whorls  of  three  to 
six,  long-ovate,  thin,  smooth  except  for 

a  slight  hairiness  of  the  veins  beneath, 
FIG.  291.  — Joe-Pye  Weed      ,,     ,  x,      ,    , 

(Eupatorium     purpureum).    finely  scallop-toothed,  tapering  to  short, 
x  J.  slim  petioles.     Heads   small,  in   rather 


COMPOSITAE   (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  41? 

long,  round-topped,  corymbose  clusters,  pinkish  purple,  fragrant ; 
the  florets  all  tubular  and  perfect.  Achenes  very  small,  black, 
angled,  with  a  funnel-shaped  pappus  of  fine,  bristly  hairs.  The 
plant  is  often  accompanied  by  a  nearly  related  variety,  the 
SPOTTED  JOE-PYE  WEED  (E.  maculatum,  L.),  differing  in  that  it 
has  rough-hairy  leaves  and  stem,  green  and  more  or  less  spotted 
with  purple;  heads  similar,  but  with  broader,  flatter  cluster 
and  the  root  also  is  medicinally  valuable.  (Fig.  291.) 

Means  of  control 

Only  grubbing  out  bodily  or  repeated  deep  cutting  throughout 
the  growing  season  will  rid  grasslands  of  this  weed.  Plants  on 
waste  grounds  and  in  thickets  should  also  be  prevented  from  seed 
production. 

THOROUGHWORT 
Eupalorium  perfoliatum,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Boneset,  Agueweed,  Feverwort,  Crosswort, 
Sweating  Plant,  Vegetable  Antimony. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:  September  to  November. 

Range:  New  Brunswick  to  Manitoba  and  North  Dakota,  south- 
ward to  Florida  and  Texas. 

Habitat:   Wet  meadows,  swamps,  sides  of  streams,  and  ditches. 

A  near  relative  of  Joe-Pye  Weed,  and  also  used  in  medicine, 
the  parts  desired  being  the  flowering  tops,  gathered  when  in  full 
bloom,  and  the  leaves,  stripped  from  the  stalks  and  quickly  dried, 
for  which  collectors  receive  three  to  eight  cents  a  pound. 

Stem  two  to  five  feet  tall,  rather  stout,  hairy,  branching  at  the 
top.  Leaves  deep  green,  long-pointed,  opposite,  and  united  at  the 
base,  seeming  like  a  single  leaf  through  which  the  stem  has  grown, 
downy  beneath,  somewhat  wrinkled,  prominently  veined,  finely 
scallop-toothed.  Heads  very  small,  in  rather  compact  corymbose 
clusters,  dull  white  or  very  rarely  blue,  the  florets  all  perfect  and 
fertile ;  as  they  mature,  the  lengthening  and  expanding  hairy  para- 
chutes of  the  achenes  make  the  clusters  appear  like  fleecy  tufts 
of  wool. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Joe-Pye  Weed. 

2E 


418  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


WHITE   SNAKEROOT 

Eupatorium  urticcefblium,  Reichard 
(Eupatdrium  ageratoides,  L.  f.) 

Other  English  names:  White  Sanicle,  Indian  Sanicle,  Nettle-leaved 

Sanicle,  Deerwort  Boneset. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   July  to  October. 
Seed-time:   August  to  November. 
Range:    New  Brunswick  to  Ontario  and  Nebraska,  southward  to 

Georgia,  Louisiana,  and  Oklahoma. 
Habitat:    Open  woods,  thickets  along  streams. 

This  plant  was  long  suspected  of  causing  in  grazing  animals  a 
peculiar  disease,  called  "Trembles"  from  the  muscular  tremors 
always  noted  as  a  symptom ;  in  turn,  if  a  person  ate  the  milk  or 
the  butter  or  the  meat  from  an  animal  so  affected,  a  disorder  known 
as  "Milk  Sickness"  resulted,  which  was  often  fatal  and  is  said  to 
have  caused  the  death  of  the  mother  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  But 
in  1908,  on  a  sudden  outbreak  of  this  disease  in  Illinois,  the  De- 
partment of  Poisonous  Plant  Investigations  at  Washington  l  was 
asked  to  look  into  the  matter,  and  the  power  for  injury  of  White 
Snakeroot  was  thoroughly  tested  on  several  species  of  animals ; 
and  finally,  convinced  of  its  harmlessness,  the  chemist  experi- 
mented on  himself,  with  no  bad  effects.  So  the  plant  stands 
acquitted.  Still,  some  residents  of  affected  localities  say,  "When 
Snakeroot  is  cleaned  out,  so  are  Trembles  and  Milk  Sickness," 
which  is  certainly  a  good  thing,  and  better  plants  take  its  place. 

Stem  very  slender,  much  branched,  smooth  or  nearly  so,  one  to 
four  feet  tall.  Leaves  opposite,  broadly  ovate,  pointed,  large, 
thin,  smooth,  coarsely  and  sharply  toothed,  three-nerved,  with 
long,  slender  petioles.  Heads  in  large,  compound,  corymbose 
clusters,  snowy  white,  each  about  a  quarter-inch  broad,  the  florets 
tubular,  five-lobed ;  the  rather  long-pointed  lobes  of  the  corollas 
and  elongated  style  branches  give  the  flowers  a  soft,  fringy  ap- 
pearance, somewhat  like  the  garden  Ageratum. 

Means  of  suppression  the  same  as  for  Joe-Pye  Weed. 

1  The  Supposed  Relationship  of  White  Snakeroot  to  Milk  Sickness  or  "  Trem- 
bles." 

Bull.  No.  121,  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  419 

MIST  FLOWER 
Eupatbrium  ccelestinum,  L. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   August  to  October. 

Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range:   New  Jersey  to  Illinois  and  Kansas,  southward  to  Florida 

and  Texas. 
Habitat :   Rich  soil ;   moist  meadows  and  thickets. 

Stems  one  to  three  feet  tall,  finely  appressed-hairy,  branching 
at  the  fop.  Leaves  opposite,  triangular  ovate,  truncate  or  heart- 
shaped  at  base,  coarsely  and  bluntly  toothed,  with  prominent 
veins  and  rather  short  petioles.  Heads  in  rather  compact  corym- 
bose clusters,  each  less  than  a  quarter-inch  across  but  very  numer- 
ous, light  blue  or  violet,  the  florets  five-lobed  and  perfect.  Achenes 
oblong,  five-angled,  the  pappus  a  single  funnel-formed  row  of 
tawny  bristles. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Joe-Pye  Weed. 

FALSE   BONESET 
Kiihnia  eupatorioides,  L. 

Other  English  name:   Plume-seed. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  August  to  September. 

Seed-time :   September  to  October. 

Range :  New  Jersey  to  Ohio,  and  southward  to  Florida  and  Texas. 

Habitat:   Dry  meadows  and  pastures,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

Patches  of  this  weed  are  very  conspicuous  in  autumn  because 
of  the  showy,  plumose  heads  of  seed.  Stem  two  to  three  feet  tall, 
springing  from  a  large,  deep-boring  root,  erect,  finely  hairy,  resin- 
ous, branching  at  the  top.  Leaves  alternate,  specked  with  resin- 
ous dots,  those  near  the  base  lance-shaped,  sparingly  toothed, 
three-nerved,  and  short-petioled,  becoming  gradually  linear,  entire, 
and  sessile  as  they  ascend  the  stalk.  Florets  all  perfect,  the 
corollas  very  slender  and  deeply  five-toothed,  white  or  cream- 
colored,  the  heads  very  numerous,  in  loosely  clustered  terminal 
panicles.  Achenes  oblong,  small,  brown,  ten-ribbed,  attached  to  a 


420 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


pappus  of  numerous  long  and  very  plumy 
hairs,  yellowish  to  nearly  white.  (Fig.  292.) 
A  near  relative  of  the  preceding  plant, 
the  PRAIRIE  FALSE  BONESET  (Kuhnia  gluti- 
nosa,  Ell.)  ranges  from  Illinois  to  the  Dakotas 
and  southward  to  Alabama  and  Texas.  It 
is  similar  in  habit  and  in  season  of  bloom  and 
fruitage,  but  is  taller  and  stouter,  more  hairy, 
and  has  foliage  somewhat  viscid  or  sticky  as 
well  as  resinous.  Its  pappus  plumes  are 
tawny  brown. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  formation  by  cutting  when 
in  first  bloom.  Cultivation  of  the  soil  will 
kill  the  perennial  roots,  but,  where  that  is 
not  desirable,  frequent  hoe-cutting  and  salt- 
ing will  starve  them.  Or  the  plants  may  be 
hand-pulled  when  the  ground  is  soft,  the 
single  taproot  making  the  process  easy. 


FIG.  292. —  False 
Boneset  (Kuhnia  eu- 
patorioides) .  X  j. 


BROAD-LEAVED   GUM   PLANT 

Grindelia  squarrbsa,  Dunal 


Other  English  names:   Gumweed,  Scaly  Grindelia. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range :   Illinois  and  Minnesota  to  the  Saskatchewan,  southward  to 

Texas  and  Mexico,  and  westward  to  California. 
Habitat:   Meadows,  grain  fields,  waste  places,  and  roadsides. 

This  weed  was  formerly  common  only  on  the  western  prairies, 
but  unrestricted  exchange  of  commercial  seeds  has  carried  it  into 
many  of  the  Eastern  States  as  an  impurity  of  grass  seeds  and 
grain.  It  is  very  persistent  when  established  in  meadow  lands 
and  is  a  serious  injury  to  the  crop.  The  leaves  and  flowering  tops 
of  the  weed  are  official  in  the  United  States  Pharmacopoeia,  and, 
if  collected  when  the  flowers  are  just  coming  into  full  bloom  and 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  421 

quickly  dried,  are  worth  in  the  drug  market  five  to  ten  cents  a 
pound. 

Stem  and  branches  somewhat  reddish,  smooth,  erect,  freely 
branching,  ten  inches  to  two  feet  high. 
Leaves  alternate,  oblong  or  the  lower 
ones  spatulate,  blunt-pointed,  sessile, 
more  or  less  clasping  at  the  base, 
spinescently  toothed.  Heads  terminal, 
solitary,  about  an  inch  broad,  resinously 
viscid ;  bracts  of  the  involucre  imbri- 
cated in  several  rows,  awl-tipped,  green, 
spreading,  and  recurved;  the  outer 
row  of  strap-shaped  or  ray  florets  are 
pistillate  and  fertile,  disk  florets  per- 
fect. Achenes  light-colored,  short,thick, 
slightly  flattened  and  curved,  obscurely 
four-sided,  marked  with  lengthwise  lines 
or  ribs ;  pappus  consists  of  two  or 
three  barbed  awns.  (Fig.  293.) 

Means  of  control 

Sow  clean  seed.  Prevent  reproduction 
by  cutting  before  any  seed  has  ripened. 
Where  the  infestation  is  new  and  areas 
are  small,  grubbing  out  or  hand-pulling 

of  the  perennial  roots  is  well  worth  the 

ii            «     .           T,       .    .          i    /.  i  i  FIG.  293.  —  Broad-leaved 

labor;    but   rankly   infested   fields   re-  Gum-plant  (Grindelia  syuar- 

quire  to  be  put  under  cultivation.  rosa).    x  \. 


NARROW-LEAVED   GUM   PLANT 

Grindklia  lanceolata,  Nutt. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  August. 

Seed-time :   August  to  September. 

Range:   Tennessee,  Missouri,  and  Kansas,  southward  to  Louisiana 

and  Texas. 
Habitat:   Meadows,  fields,  and  waste  places. 


422 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


A  more  slender  plant  than  the  preceding,  erect,  smooth,  many- 
branched,  one  to  two  feet  tall.  Leaves  narrow  lance-shaped  or 
the  lowermost  ones  slashed  into  narrow,  pointed  lobes,  the  upper 
ones  approaching  to  linear,  but  all  acute  at  the  apex,  sharply 
toothed,  sessile  or  clasping.  Heads  about  an  inch  broad,  with 
perfect  disk  florets  and  numerous  narrow  yellow  rays,  pistillate 
and  fertile;  bracts  of  the  involucre  very  slender  and  awl-shaped, 
only  the  outer  row  spreading  and  the  inner  ones  erect;  achenes 
smooth,  two-toothed,  with  a  pappus  of  one  or  two  awns. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  Broad-leaved  Gum  Plant. 


MARYLAND   GOLDEN  ASTER 

Chrysopsis  mariana,  Nutt. 


Seed-time :   Septeml 


Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  August  to  September, 
tnber  to  October. 

Range :  Southern  New  York  and  Penn- 
sylvania, southward  to  Florida  and 
Louisiana. 

Habitat :  Dry,  rather  sterile  fields,  mead- 
ows, and  pastures. 

A  very  handsome,  conspicuous  plant 
with  numerous  golden  flower-heads, 
often  an  inch  broad,  upheld  in  terminal, 
branching,  flat-topped  clusters.  Cattle 
refuse  to  eat  the  plant,  whether  as 
green  forage  or  cured  with  hay. 

Stem  stout,  one  to  two  feet  in  height, 
set  with  silky  hairs  when  young,  but 
nearly  smooth  when  old.  Leaves  alter- 
nate entire,  oblong  to  lance-shape,  or 
those  near  the  base  spatulate  and  nar- 
rowed to  a  petiole,  the  upper  ones  sessile, 
all  silken-hairy  when  young  but  becom- 
ing smooth  with  age.  Heads  in  co- 
rymbose clusters  on  viscid,  glandular 
GoMe"  ^T^krllo^  peduncles,  and  the  pointed  involucral 
mariana).  xi  bracts  also  are  sticky-hairy;  rays  six- 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  423 

teen  to  twenty  in  number,  pistillate  and  fertile;  disk  florets 
perfect.  Achenes  ovoid,  flattened,  hairy,  with  a  double  pappus, 
the  inner  row  of  long  hairs,  the  outer  one  of  short  and  chaff- 
like  bristles.  (Fig.  294.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  development  and  distribution  by  early  cutting  of 
infested  grasslands.  Destroy  the  perennial  roots  by  cultivation  of 
the  soil,  which  should  be  so  enriched  as  to  be  enabled  to  support 
plants  of  a  better  quality. 

HAIRY   GOLDEN   ASTER 

Chrysdpsis  villosa,  Nutt. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:  August  to  October. 

Range:    Wisconsin   to   Manitoba,   and   southward   to   Kentucky, 

Kansas,  Louisiana,  and  Texas. 
Habitat:   Grain  fields,  meadows,  and  pastures. 

A  near  relative  of  the  preceding  plant  and  even  more  pernicious 
because  blooming  earlier.  It  is  taller,  stouter,  with  fewer  but 
larger  blossoms,  the  heads  solitary  at  the  ends  of  the  many  branches 
and  more  than  an  inch  broad.  Stem  two  to  three  feet  tall,  stiff, 
woody,  rough,  and  gray  with  close-pressed  hairs  which  are  per- 
sistent. Leaves  narrowly  oblong,  obtuse  at  apex,  the  upper  ones 
rounded  at  base  and  sessile,  the  lower  ones  narrowing  to  a  petiole ; 
they  are  hoary  with  stiff,  appressed  hairs,  the  larger,  lower  ones 
with  bristly,  fringed  bases.  Bracts  of  the  involucre  awl-shaped 
and  very  hairy.  Achenes  three-  to  five-ribbed,  the  outer  row  of 
the  double  pappus  very  spreading  and  bristly. 

Means  of  control  should  be  the  same  as  for  the  preceding  plant. 

GRAY   GOLDENROD 

Solidago  nemoralis,  Ait. 

Other  English  names :  Field  Goldenrod,  Low  Goldenrod,  Dyer's  Weed. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :    Late  July  to  November. 


424  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

Seed-time:   September  to  December. 

Range:   Quebec  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  southward  to  Florida, 

Texas,  and  Arizona. 
Habitat :    Dry  soil ;    old  fields,  meadows,  pastures,  roadsides,  and 

waste  places. 

Probably  the  commonest  of  the  Goldenrods  and  one  of  the  most 
beautiful.  Stem  six  inches  to  two  feet  high,  simple,  clothed  with  fine, 
grayish  hah-.  Alternate  leaves  also  roughened 
with  fine,  ashy-gray  hairs,  the  lower  ones 
spatulate,  scallop-toothed,  tapering  to  petioles, 
often  with  fascicles  of  small  leaves  in  their 
axils;  the  upper  leaves  very  much  smaller, 
entire,  acute,  and  sessile.  Panicle  large,  spread- 
ing, recurved,  usually  one-sided,  densely  many- 
headed,  brilliant  golden  yellow,  each  tiny  head 
having  five  to  nine  rays  which,  as  in  all  the 
Goldenrods,  are  pistillate ;  the  disk  florets 
are  also  yellow  and  perfect.  Achenes  very 
small,  hairy,  with  a  fine,  bristly  pappus. 
(Fig.  295.) 

Means  of  control 

Cultivate  and  liberally  fertilize  the  ground. 
The  plant  has  a  preference  for  dry  and  sterile 
soil,  and  is  readily  crowded  out  when  the  ground 
is  furnished  with  humus  which  enables    it    to 
FIG.  295.  —  Gray    retain   moisture    and    support    the    growth    of 
better  Plants.     Roadside  and  waste  land  plants 
should  be  prevented  from  seed  production  by 
repeated  close  cutting. 

SOFT   OR  HOARY   GOLDENROD 

Soliddgo  mollis,  Bartl. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  stolons. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range:    Manitoba   and   Minnesota  to   the  Northwest   Territory, 

southward  to  Texas  and  Mexico. 
Habitat :   Dry  hills  and  plains ;   meadows  and  pastures. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  425 

Its  stoloniferous  habit  causes  this  weed  to  form  dense  patches, 
choking  out  all  intervening  growth.  Stems  usually  tufted,  from  a 
thick,  woody  root,  six  inches  to  a  foot  high,  stout,  rigid,  clothed 
with  soft,  velvety  gray  hair.  Leaves  alternate,  thick,  firm,  also 
velvety-hairy,  the  lower  ones  spatulate,  three-nerved,  wavy-edged, 
tapering  to  petioles ;  the  upper  ones  much  smaller,  acute,  entire, 
and  sessile.  Panicles  rather  narrow  and  racemose,  the  branchlets 
held  nearly  erect,  making  the  cluster  compact  and  not  one-sided ; 
heads  small,  very  bright  yellow.  Achenes  downy-hairy,  with  fine, 
bristly  pappus. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Gray  Goldenrod. 


CANADA   GOLDENRjOD 
Solidago  canadensis,  L. 

Other  English  names :  Tall  Yellow-weed, 
Tall  Goldenrod. 

Native.  Perennial.  Propagates  by  seeds 
and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom :   Late  July  to  October. 

Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range :  Newfoundland  and  New  Bruns- 
wick to  the  Northwest  Territory  and 
British  Columbia,  southward  to  Florida 
and  Arizona. 

Habitat :  Thickets  and  rich,  open  soil ; 
meadows  and  fence  rows. 

In  good  soil  this  stately  plant  often 
attains  eight  or  more  feet  in  height,  but 
is  oftener  three  to  six  feet  tall,  rather 
slender,  usually  simple,  hairy  toward  the 
top  but  becoming  smooth  below.  Leaves 
alternate,  narrow  lance-shaped,  thin, 
three-nerved,  finely  toothed,  smooth 
above  but  finely  hairy  beneath,  espe- 
cially on  the  veins,  pointed  at  both  ends, 
the  lower  ones  tapering  to  petioles,  the 
upper  ones  becoming  smaller,  nearly  en-  FJQ 
tire  and  sessile.  Panicle  large,  broadly  Goldenrod  (Solidago  cana- 
pyramidal,  the  racemes  recurved  and  densis).  x  \. 


426  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

one-sided,  densely  crowded,  the  heads  small  and  rather  dull  yellow, 
with  nine  to  fifteen  rays,  the  pedicels  hairy.  Achenes  smooth  or 
very  slightly  hairy,  with  fine,  bristly  pappus.  (Fig.  296.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  the  development  and  distribution  of  the  plumed  seeds 
by  close  cutting  while  in  early  bloom.  Its  creeping,  underground 
stems  make  this  plant  more  difficult  of  suppression  than  others  of 
its  kindred,  but  fall  plowing  and  exposure  of  the  rootstocks  to  sun- 
drying  and  freezing  will  destroy  them.  Small  areas  should  be 
grubbed  out  for  the  protection  of  neighboring  ground. 

STIFF,   OR  HARD-LEAVED,   GOLDENROD 

Solidago  rigida,  L. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   August  to  October. 

Seed-time :  September  to  November. 

Range :   Ontario  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  southward  to  Georgia, 

Texas,  and  Colorado. 
Habitat :   Dry  soil ;   hills  and  plains ;   meadows  and  pastures. 

Stem  one  to  five  feet  tall,  stout,  rigid,  simple  or  branched  above, 
gray  with  a  fine  rough-hairiness.  Leaves  oblong  to  ovate,  thick, 
rigid,  with  prominent  feather-veins,  rough-hairy  on  both  sides, 
usually  obtuse,  the  lowermost  sometimes  a  foot  long  with  stiff 
petioles  and  slightly  toothed,  the  upper  ones  short,  rounded  at  the 
base,  entire,  and  sessile.  Panicle  very  large  and  showy,  corym- 
bose, densely  many-headed,  the  heads  very  large  for  Goldenrod, 
about  a  third  of  an  inch  high,  containing  thirty  or  more  florets, 
the  rays  seven  to  ten,  spreading ;  bracts  of  the  involucre  obtuse, 
the  outer  row  hairy.  Achenes  smooth,  with  fine  bristly  pappus. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Gray  Goldenrod. 

NARROW-LEAVED   GOLDENROD 

Solidago  graminifolia,  Salisb. 
(Euthamia  graminifolia,  Nutt.) 

Other    English    names:     Fragrant    Goldenrod,    Bushy    Goldenrod, 

Creeping  Yellow-weed. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


427 


Time  of  bloom :   Late  July  to  October. 

Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range:  New  Brunswick  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  southward  to 

Florida,  Missouri,  and  Nebraska. 
Habitat :    Rich,  moist  soil ;    damp  fields  and   meadows,  sides   of 

streams  and  ditches. 


A  beautiful  plant  but  a  bad  weed,  usually  growing  in  large 
patches,  formed  by  means  of  its  long,  creeping  rootstocks.  Stem 
erect,  two  to  four  feet  tall,  slightly  angled 
and  ridged,  much  branched  and  bushy. 
Leaves  alternate,  lance-shaped  to  linear,  one 
to  four  inches  long  but  only  a  quarter- 
inch  wide  or  less,  three-  to  five-nerved, 
minutely  rough-hairy  on  the  edges  and  on 
the  under  side  of  the  nerves,  pointed  at 
both  ends,  entire,  sessile.  Heads  in  many 
dense,  corymbose,  small  clusters  at  the 
ends  of  the  short,  leafy  branches,  forming 
altogether  a  large,  flat-topped  cluster;  the 
heads  are  large  for  Goldenrod,  about  a 
quarter-inch  high,  deep  yellow,  fragrant, 
with  many  more  rays  than  disk-florets,  both 
kinds  fertile ;  bracts  of  the  involucre  oblong 
and  somewhat  viscid.  Achenes  broadest 
at  the  top,  downy-hairy,  with  fine,  bristly 
pappus.  The  Goldenrods  frequently  serve 
as  hosts  for  several  species  of  mildew  and 
rust,  which  makes  them  still  more  undesir- 
able as  neighbors  to  plants  of  better  quality. 
(Fig.  297.) 


FIG.  297. —  Narrow- 
leaved  Goldenrod  (Soli- 
dago  graminif  olid).  X  J. 


Means  of  control 

The  creeping  rootstocks  are  horizontal  and  not  far  below  the 
surface,  and  may  be  destroyed  by  shallow  fall  plowing,  which  ex- 
poses them  to  alternate  freezing  and  thawing  and  to  shrivel  in  sun 
and  wind.  Better  drainage  helps  in  keeping  the  ground  free  from 
new  invasion.  Of  course  all  flowering  stalks  should  be  cut  when 
the  plants  are  in  first  bloom,  in  order  to  prevent  seed  development. 


428 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


BUSHY  ASTER 
Boltonia  asteroides,  L'Her. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:    Late  July  to  October. 

Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range  :  New  Jersey  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  Florida,  Louisiana, 

and  Nebraska. 
Habitat  :  Moist  soil  ;   low  meadows,  banks  of  streams,  and  ditches. 

The  common  name  of  this  plant  fits  it  well,  for  it  has 
all  the  appearance  of  a  big  and  bushy 
Aster  and  is  nearly  akin  to  that  Family. 
Stem  two  to  six  feet  tall,  stout,  smooth, 
pale  green,  much  branched,  and  very 
leafy.  Leaves  alternate,  the  lower  ones 
oblong  to  lance-shaped  or  slightly  broad- 
ened above  the  middle,  thick,  smooth, 
entire,  pointed,  sessile,  often  turned  edge- 
wise; upper  leaves  much  smaller,  acute, 
and  nearly  linear.  Heads  numerous,  in 
loosely  branched  corymbose  clusters,  each 
about  a  half-inch  broad,  with  many  nar- 
row pistillate,  and  fertile  rays,  white, 
pale  pink,  or  purplish,  mostly  the  last. 
Disk  rounded  and  yellow,  the  florets  per- 
fect and  fertile.  Achenes  flattened,  obo- 
vate  or  heart-shaped,  winged  on  the 
margin,  and,  instead  of  an  Aster's  hairy 
pappus,  are  crowned  with  several  short, 
prickly  scales  and  two  to  four  bristly 
awns  about  as  long  as  the  achene.  (Fig. 
298.) 


FIG.  298.—  Bushy  Aster 
(Boltonia  asteroides).    X  i. 


Means  of  control 

Ground  infested  with  this  weed  indicates  a  need  of  better  drain- 
age. Prevent  seed  production  by  close  cutting  while  in  early 
bloom.  Cultivation  of  the  soil  destroys  the  perennial  roots. 


COMPOS1TAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


429 


WOODY  ASTER 
Xylorhlza  Pdrryi,  Gray 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   Late  May  to  June. 

Seed-lime :  June  to  early  July. 

Range:   Western  Wyoming,  Colorado,  and  adjacent  Utah. 

Habitat:  Alkaline  clay  soil;   range  pastures. 

A  most  pernicious  plant,  because  of  its  extremely  poisonous 
properties.  A  bulletin  of  the  State  Experiment  Station  of  Wyo- 
ming is  authority  for  the  statement  that,  in  the  sheep-raising  industry 
alone,  that  commonwealth  suffers  a  yearly  loss  of  more  than  three 
million  dollars,  the  greater 
part  of  which  is  due  to 
poisonous  plants  on  the 
pasture  ranges,  this  weed 
being  considered  by  many 
stockmen  the  most  nox- 
ious of  all,  since  at  least 
90  per  cent  of  the  animals 
affected  die. 

Roots  thick,  strong, 
woody,  branching  more  or 
less  just  at  the  surface  of 
the  ground;  from  these  FIG.  299.  -  Woody  Aster  (X^ 


Parr^f). 


branching,  woody  crowns 

rise  tufts  of  short  branches,  four  to  eight  inches  in  height,  forming 
a  dense,  crowded  stool.  Leaves  alternate,  one  to  two  inches  long, 
spatulate-linear,  sessile,  entire,  light  green,  somewhat  hoary  with  a 
thin,  soft  woolly-hairiness  ;  usually  they  are  spotted  with  a  brown 
fungus.  Heads  solitary,  terminating  the  numerous  young  branches, 
an  inch  or  more  broad,  with  many  white  rays  and  yellow  disks  ; 
bracts  of  the  involucre  oblong  lance-shaped,  keeled  below,  long- 
pointed,  covered  with  ashy-gray  hair.  Achenes  white-hairy,  with 
a  bristly,  yellowish  pappus.  When  green  and  grownng,  the  whole 
plant  gives  off  an  unpleasant  odor  and  has  a  bitter  taste.  After 
the  flowers  mature  the  plant  withers  and  dries,  becoming  yellowish 
brown  in  color  and  losing  its  noxious  qualities,  as  thereafter  the 


430  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

sheep  feed  freely  on  the  dried  herbage  without  apparent  harm. 
(Fig.  299.) 

Means  of  control 

Herding  the  animals  away  from  localities  where  the  plants  are 
abundant,  during  the  noxious  season  of  green  leafage  and  bloom, 
seems  to  be  the  only  practicable  plan  under  existing  conditions. 
But  it  would  seem  that  so  tremendous  an  injury  to  so  important 
an  industry  should  be  a  matter  of  interest  to  the  entire  com- 
munity, better  met  by  concerted  communal  action  than  by  in- 
dividual effort,  and  that  yearly  a  large  portion  of  the  land  cursed 
by  such  deadly  herbage  might  be  redeemed  from  it,  supplanting 
its  bane  with  wholesome  growth,  if  merely  salt-bushes. 

NEW  ENGLAND   ASTER 

Aster  novce-dnglice,  L. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   August  to  October. 

Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range :  Quebec  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  southward  to  the  Caro- 

linas,  Alabama,  Missouri,  Kansas,  and  Colorado. 
Habitat:   Moist  soil;   fields,  meadows,  roadsides,  waste  places. 

One  of  the  handsomest  of  its  family,  cultivated  in  Europe  for 
its  beauty,  escaped,  and  locally  naturalized  there.  In  spite  of  its 
name  the  plant  is  more  common  in  the  meadows  and  thickets  of 
the  Middle  Western  States  than  in  New  England. 

Stem  two  to  eight  feet  tall,  branching  at  the  top,  and  the  branch- 
lets  glandular-viscid,  rather  stout,  erect,  often  of  a  reddish  color 
and  covered  with  fine,  bristly  hairs.  Leaves  alternate,  lance- 
shaped,  deep  green,  entire,  acute,  rather  thin,  softly  hairy,  clasping 
the  stem  by  an  auriculate  base.  Heads  numerous,  clustered  at 
the  summit  of  stem  and  branches ;  each  nearly  two  inches  broad, 
with  orange-yellow  disk  changing  to  reddish  brown  with  age,  and 
forty  to  sixty  long,  narrow  rays,  which  are  usually  deep  violet- 
purple,  rarely  white,  occasionally  red  or  pink ;  as  in  all  the  asters 
the  rays  are  pistillate  and  fertile,  the  disk-florets  perfect ;  bracts 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  431 

of  the  involucre  nearly  equal,  green,  linear,  spreading,  very  soft 
and  lax,  glandular  hairy.  Achenes  bristly-hairy,  with  a  thick 
tuft  of  tawny,  brown  pappus  about  three  times  their  length. 

Means  of  control 

Close  and  repeated  cutting  for  the  purpose  of  starving  the 
perennial  roots  and  preventing  seed  development.  The  plant  is 
at  once  destroyed  by  cultivation  of  the  ground. 

HEART-LEAVED   ASTER 
Aster  cordifdlius,  L. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   August  to  October. 

Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range:   New  Brunswick  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  Georgia  and 

Missouri. 
Habitat:   Woodland  borders,  fields,  and  roadsides,  fence  rows,  and 

thickets. 

Stem  one  to  four  feet  tall,  erect,  slender,  round,  and  smooth. 
Leaves  thin,  finely  rough,  hairy,  sharply  toothed,  heart-shaped  to 
broadly  ovate,  long-pointed,  the  lower  ones  often  five  or  six  inches 
long  and  nearly  as  broad,  with  slender  petioles ;  the  upper  ones 
much  smaller,  ovate  to  lance-shaped,  short-petioled  or  sessile. 
Heads  very  numerous,  in  profuse  panicled  clusters  at  the  ends  of 
stem  and  branches,  each  about  a  half-inch  broad,  the  rays  light 
violet-blue ;  involucre  top-shaped,  its  bracts  appressed  and  tipped 
with  short,  obtuse,  green  points.  Achenes  very  small,  with  whitish 
pappus. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  New  England  Aster. 


SMOOTH   ASTER 

Aster  laevis,  L. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:    August  to  October. 

Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range :  Maine  and  Ontario  to  North  Dakota,  southward  to  Georgia, 

Louisiana,  and  Kansas. 
Habitat :   Dry  or  stony  soil ;   fields,  pastures,  roadsides. 


432 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


FIG.  300.  —  Smooth 
Aster  (Aster  Icevis) . 
Xi. 


Stem  two  to  four  feet  high,  rather  stout, 
smooth  and  polished  or  often  glaucous,  sim- 
ple or  branched  at  the  top.  Leaves  light 
green,  rather  thick  in  texture,  one  to  four 
inches  long,  smooth  and  shining  or  covered 
with  a  bloom,  entire  or  minutely  toothed, 
oblong  and  pointed,  the  upper  ones  sessile 
and  clasping  the  stem  with  auricled  or  heart- 
shaped  base,  the  lower  ones  tapering  to 
margined  petioles  w^hich  are  partly  clasping. 
Heads  numerous,  in  slender  open  panicles, 
each  about  an  inch  broad,  the  rays  deep 
violet-blue,  sometimes  purple;  involucre 
bell-shaped,  its  bracts  imbricated  in  several 
rows,  smooth,  acute,  rigid,  green-tipped. 
Achenes  smooth,  with  a  tawny  pappus. 
(Fig.  300.) 

Means  of  control 

Enrich  the  ground  and  enable  it  to  sup- 
port plants  of  more  worth.  A  cultivated 
crop,  heavily  fertilized  and  well  tilled,  fol- 
lowed by  a  clean  seeding  of  clover  or  grass, 
will  drive  out  this  and  many  other  weeds. 


WHITE   HEATH  ASTER 
Aster  ericoides,  L. 

Other   English   names:     Steelweed,    Frostweed,    White   Rosemary, 

Scrubbush. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   August  to  October. 
Seed-time:    September  to  December. 
Range:    Maine  to  Ontario  and  Wisconsin,  southward  to  Virginia 

and  Kentucky. 
Habitat :   Dry  soil ;   meadows,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 


Meadows  and  pastures  infested  with  this  weed  are  in  a  bad 
condition,  for  as  green  forage  it  is  worthless,  and  the  hard,  woody 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  433 

stems  that  have  given  it  the  name  of  Steelweed  dull  or  break  the 
mowing  knives  and  "cut  the  grade"  of  hay  that  is  intended  for 
market. 

Stem  one  to  three  feet  high,  smooth  or  nearly  so,  diffusely 
branched,  spreading  and  bushy.  Leaves  rather  thick  and  rigid, 
the  lower  ones  spatulate,  one  to  three  inches  long,  tapering  to  a 
slightly  margined  petiole,  sometimes  sparingly  toothed ;  the  upper 
ones  narrow  lance-shaped,  sessile,  entire,  becoming  linear  and  awl- 
like  as  they  near  the  summit.  Heads  very 
numerous,  racemose  along  the  upper  side  of 
the  spreading  branches ;  they  are  hardly  a 
half-inch  broad,  with  fifteen  to  twenty-five 
white  or  pinkish  rays ;  bracts  of  the  in- 
volucre rather  thick  and  awl-like,  green- 
tipped.  The  blossoms  secrete  nectar  of  a 
fine,  limpid  quality,  and  the  plant  is  a 
favorite  with  bee-keepers.  Achenes  small, 
gray,  finely  hairy,  the  pappus  white ;  they 
are  widely  wind-distributed.  (Fig.  301.) 

Westward  to  Minnesota  and  Missouri, 
this  plant  gives  place  to  a  near  relative,  the 
HAIRY  HEATH  ASTER  (Aster  ericoldes  var. 
pilbsus,  Porter),  very  like  it  in  appearance 
and  habits  except  that  the  hard  stems  and 

the   small,   pointed    leaves   are   clothed   all 

...    «  .,   ,     .  FIG.  301.  — Heath  Aster 

over  with  fine,  soft  hair.  (Aster  ericoides},    x  i. 

Means  of  control 

Cultivation  of  the  ground,  fertilizing  heavily  and  tilling  very 
thoroughly  before  reseeding  with  clover  and  grasses.  Sheep  will 
eat  the  weed  while  it  is  young  and  will  do  good  service  in  keeping 
it  down  in  pastures. 

MANY-FLOWERED   ASTER 
Aster  multiflbrus,  Ait. 

Other  English  names :   White  Wreath  Aster,  Fall  Flower. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

2F 


434  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

Time  of  bloom:   August  to  November. 

Seed-time:   September  to  December. 

Range :   Maine  to  Ontario  to  the  Northwest  Territory  and  British 

Columbia,  southward  to  Georgia,  Texas,  and  Arizona. 
Habitat:    Dry,  open  soil;    fields,  meadows,  roadsides,  and  waste 

places. 

Stem  one  to  six  feet  tall,  very  slender,  strict,  hard  and  woody, 
with  many  slender,  spreading  branches,  pale  with  a  close,  minute 
hairiness.  Leaves  light  green,  oblong  to  linear,  spreading,  rigid, 
entire,  obtuse,  rough-edged,  sessile  or  clasping  at  the  base,  hardly 
more  than  an  inch  long,  those  on  the  branches  much  smaller, 
being  mere  roughened,  awl-like  bracts.  Heads  very  many,  hardly 
a  half -inch  broad,  with  white  rays,  in  densely  crowded,  long,  rather 
one-sided,  racemose  clusters,  so  closely  set  along  the  branches  as 
often  to  conceal  them  and  really  form  "white  wreaths" ;  involucre 
top-shaped,  its  bracts  appressed  with  spreading  and  recurved  green 
tips.  Achenes  hairy,  with  tawny  pappus. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  Smooth  Aster. 

TRADESCANT'S  ASTER 
Aster  Tradescdnti,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Michaelmas  Daisy,  Farewell  Summer. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   August  to  October. 
Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range:    Ontario  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  southward  to  Vir- 
ginia, Illinois,  and  Missouri. 
Habitat:   Damp  fields  and  meadows,  borders  of  swamps. 

Stem  two  to  five  feet  tall,  nearly  smooth,  slender,  brownish, 
with  many  ascending,  paniculate  branches.  Leaves  narrow  lance- 
shaped  to  linear,  three  to  six  inches  in  length,  long-pointed,  thin, 
smooth,  sessile  and  entire  or  the  lower  ones  toothed  along  the 
middle  of  each  side  and  tapering  to  petioles.  Heads  in  large,  very 
numerous  raceme-like  panicles,  smaller  than  related  species  or 
rather  more  than  a  half-inch  broad,  the  many  narrow  rays  white 
or  very  pale  purple ;  involucre  broadly  top-shaped,  its  bracts 
closely  imbricated,  linear,  acute,  green-tipped.  Achenes  minutely 
hairy,  with  a  white  pappus. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  Purple-stemmed  Aster. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  435 

WILLOW-LEAVED   ASTER 

Aster  salicifdlius,  Ait. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   August  to  October. 

Seed-time:  September  to  November. 

Range:    Maine  and  Ontario  to  Montana,  southward  to  Florida, 

Missouri,  and  Texas. 
Habitat :   Moist  soil ;    meadows,  pastures,  waste  places. 

Stem  slender,  two  to  five  feet  tall,  smooth  or  the  upper  and 
younger  parts  finely  hairy.  Leaves  firm,  two  to  four  inches  long, 
somewhat  rough-hairy,  especially  on  the  margins,  narrow  lance- 
shaped,  with  few  and  very  short  fine  teeth  along  the  sides  or 
more  often  entire,  pointed  at  both  ends,  sessile  or  slightly  clasping 
or  the  lowermost  ones  tapering  to  petioles.  Heads  in  loose,  leafy 
panicles,  each  nearly  an  inch  broad,  with  many  violet  or  pale 
purple  or  sometimes  nearly  white  rays ;  involucre  top-shaped,  its 
bracts  nearly  linear,  closely  appressed,  acute  and  green-tipped. 
Achenes  finely  hairy  with  white  pappus. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Purple-stemmed  Aster. 


PURPLE-STEMMED   ASTER 

Aster  punlceus,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Early  Purple  Aster,  Red-stalk,  Ruddy-stem, 

Swan  Weed,  Meadow  Scabish,  Cocash. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  July  to  November. 
Seed-time:   August  to  December. 
Range:   Newfoundland  to  Manitoba,  southward  to  Virginia,  Ohio, 

and  Illinois. 
Habitat :   Moist  fields  and  meadows,  banks  of  streams,  swamps. 

Stem  three  to  seven  feet  tall,  stout,  grooved,  erect,  reddish 
purple,  bristly  with  short,  stiff  hairs,  branching  near  the  top. 
Leaves  three  to  six  inches  long  and  an  inch  or  more  wide, 
oblong  to  lance-shaped,  long-pointed,  rough  above,  bristly  on 
midrib  below,  toothed  along  the  sides,  clasping  the  stem  with  an 
auriculate  base.  Heads  in  loosely  branched  panicles,  on 


436 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


FIG.  302.  — Purple- 


rather  short  pedicels,  each  about  an  inch 
broad,  with  light  yellow  disk  and  many 
pale  purple  or  lilac  rays ;  bracts  of  the 
involucre  usually  in  two  rows,  linear, 
smooth,  green,  spreading.  Achenes  hairy, 
the  long,  tufted  pappus  nearly  white. 
This  weed  is  in  bloom  so  early  that 
flowering  stems  are  often  cut  with  hay, 
and  seeds  ripen  on  the  stalks.  (Fig. 
302.) 

Means  of  control 

Deprive  the  plant  of  its  loved  mois- 
ture by  better  drainage.  Prevent  seed 
production  and  starve  the  perennial  roots 
by  frequent  close  cutting,  and  so  fertilize, 


stemmed  Aster  (Aster  pu-   cultivate,  and  improve  the   ground   that 


niceus).     X  J. 


better  plants  will  supersede  the  weed. 


ROBIN'S   PLANTAIN 

Erlgeron  pulchellus,  Michx. 

Other  English  names:   Blue  Spring  Daisy,  Poor  Robin,  Rose  Petty. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  off-sets. 

Time  of  bloom:   April  to  June. 

Seed-time:   May  to  July. 

Range:    Nova   Scotia  to   Ontario  and   Minnesota,   southward   to 

Florida  and  Louisiana. 
Habitat:   Hillsides,  woodland  borders,  moist  banks. 

Stems  slender,  simple,  softly  hairy,  ten  to  twenty  inches  tall. 
Base-leaves  tufted,  spatulate  or  long  obovate,  obtuse,  softly  hairy 
on  both  sides,  with  a  few  shallow  teeth,  and  tapering  to  short- 
margined  petioles ;  stem-leaves  small,  distant,  narrow-ovate  to 
lance-shaped,  sessile  or  partly  clasping,  usually  entire.  Heads  few, 
in  a  terminal  cluster,  each  an  inch  or  more  broad,  with  many 
narrow  purple  rays  varying  from  pale  lilac  to  deep  violet;,  disk 
broad  and  flat,  greenish  yellow,  its  florets  perfect.  Achenes 
flattened,  nearly  smooth,  with  pappus  of  a  single  row  of  fine  hairs. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  437 

Means  of  control 

This  weed  is  at  once  suppressed  by  cultivation  of  the  ground ; 
but  where  that  is  not  practicable  or  desirable,  the  plant  may  be 
destroyed  by  hoe-cutting  below  the  crown. 

PHILADELPHIA  FLEABANE 
Erigeron  philadelphicus,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Skevish,  Lowground  Fleabane. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds,  stolons,  and  off-sets. 

Time  of  bloom:   May  to  August. 

Seed-time:   June  to  September. 

Range :  Throughout  North  America  except  the 

far  North. 
Habitat :    Alluvial  soil ;    fields,  meadows,  and 

thickets. 

Often  spoken  of  as  the  "common"  Fleabane, 
but  not  usually  an  abundant  weed,  for  it  has 
decided  preferences,  growing  only  on  moist 
ground  and  liking  partial  shade. 

Stems  one  to  three  feet  high,  single  or  in 
tufts  of  two  or  three,  slender,  leafy,  softly 
hairy.  Lower  leaves  spatulate  to  long-obo- 
vate,  obtuse,  coarsely  toothed,  narrowing  to 
short-margined  petioles ;  stem-leaves  more  nar- 
row and  pointed,  often  entire,  clasping  by  a 
heart-shaped  base.  Heads  in  a  corymbose 
terminal  cluster,  each  nearly  an  inch  broad, 
with  greenish  yellow  disks  and  innumerable 
thin,  fringy  rays,  pale  pink  or  pinkish  purple, 
sometimes  nearly  white.  Achenes  hairy,  with 
pappus  of  one  funnel-formed  row  of  fine 
hair.  These  seeds  are  a  common  impurity  of 
grass  and  clover  seeds,  though,  being  small 
and  light,  they  should  be  readily  removed. 

(Fie  303  )  FlG-  303' "~  phUa' 

,    delphia    Fleabane 

Controlled  by  drainage  and  cultivation  or  (Erigeron  philadd- 
the  ground.  phicus).  x|. 


438 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


WHITE-TOR 

Erigeron  dnnuus,  L. 


Tall   Whiteweed,   Daisy   Fleabane,   Sweet 
Propagates  by  seeds. 


Other   English   names : 

Scabious. 

Native.  Annual  or  winter  annual. 
Time  of  bloom:  May  to  November. 
Seed-time:  June  to  December. 

Range :  Nova  Scotia  to  Alaska,  southward  to  Georgia  and  Missouri. 
Habitat:   Fields,  meadows,  roadsides,  waste  places. 

A  special  pest  of  grass  and  clover  fields, 
the  earlier  flowers  maturing  and  dropping 
seeds  into  the  soil  before  the  accompanying 
crop  is  ready  to  harvest,  thus  assuring  a  con- 
tinuity of  its  unwelcome  presence.  Seed- 
bearing  plants  are  transported  in  baled  hay 
and  the  seeds  are  a  common  impurity  of  grass 
seeds. 

Stem  two  to  five  feet  tall,  erect,  stiff,  some- 
what ridged,  sparsely  covered  with  spreading 
hairs,  much  branched  at  the  top.  Leaves 
thin,  coarsely  and  sharply  toothed,  the  lower 
ones  long-ovate,  tapering  into  margined  peti- 
oles, the  upper  ones  lance-shaped,  acute, 
toothed  only  along  the  sides,  sessile  or  with 
very  short  petioles,  those  on  the  branches 
still  smaller  and  usually  entire.  Heads  very 
numerous,  in  many  corymbose  clusters,  on 
short  pedicels,  about  a  half-inch  broad,  the 
many  narrow  rays  white  or  faintly  tinged 
with  purple ;  bracts  of  the  involucre  bristly- 
hairy  and  nearly  linear.  Achenes  very  small, 
light-colored,  flattened,  slightly  hairy.  Pappus 
double,  the  inner  row  of  fine  bristly  hairs,  the 
outer  row  of  short  slender  scales.  (Fig.  304.) 


FIG.  304.  —  White- 
top  (Erigeron  an- 
nuus).  X  £. 


Means  of  control 

If  the  infestation  is  new  and  the  weed  not  so  abundant  as  to 
make  the  task  impracticable,  it  will  pay  to  hand-pull  and  remove 


GOMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  439 

the  plants  at  the  appearance  of  its  first  bloom,  rather  than  that  the 
ground  should  be  fouled  for  as  long  as  it  is  kept  in  clover  or  grass. 
Sheep  prefer  White-top  to  good  hay.  After  the  crop  is  harvested, 
turn  in  the  flock  and  they  will  graze  down  the  tufts  of  winter  crown- 
leaves.  Fields  rankly  infested  are  best  treated  by  plowing  under 
for  winter  wheat  or  a  cultivated  crop,  to  be  followed  by  a  clean 
reseeding. 

SLENDER   WHITE-TOP 
Erigeron  ramosus,  BSP. 

Native.     Annual  or  winter  annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   May  to  November. 

Seed-time:  June  to  December. 

Range:    Nova  Scotia  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  southward  to 

Florida,  Louisiana,  and  Texas. 
Habitat:   Fields,  meadows,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

Similar  to  the  preceding  species  and  often  growing  in  its  com- 
pany, but  smaller,  the  slender  stem  one  to  three  feet  tall,  the 
clothing  hairs  appressed  instead  of  spreading.  Basal  leaves  oblong 
to  spatulate,  toothed,  and  narrowed  to  petioles,  the  stem  leaves 
lance-shaped  to  linear,  mostly  entire,  and  sessile.  Heads  smaller, 
with  even  thinner  and  more  thread-like  white  rays ;  bracts  of  the 
involucre  nearly  linear,  scarious-margined,  acute.  Achenes  re- 
semble those  of  the  preceding  species. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Tall  White-top. 


CANADA  FLEABANE 

Erigeron  canadensis,  L. 
(Leptilon  canadense,  Britton) 

Other  English  names:    Horseweed,  Bitterweed,  Prideweed,  Mare's- 

tail,  Blood-stanch. 

Native.     Annual  and  winter  annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   June  to  October. 
Seed-time:  July  to  November. 

Range:   Throughout  North  America  except  the  extreme  North. 
Habitat:  Grain  fields,  meadows,  pastures,  and  waste  places. 

From  this  plant  is  distilled  the  volatile  oil  of  fleabane,  used  in 
making  "mosquito  dope"  for  the  use  of  persons  who  have  occa- 


440  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

sion  to  go  where  mosquitoes  are  troublesome ;  it  is  also  used  in 
medicine,  and  the  dried  plants  are  quoted  at  five  to  six  cents  a 
pound  in  the  drug  market ;  its  juices  are  resinous  and  bitter, 
and  grazing  animals  will  not  touch  the  weed.  The  hands  should 
be  protected  when  pulling  or  collecting  the  plants,  for  the  oily 
and  acrid  juices  are  sometimes  very  irritating  to  the  skin,  pro- 
ducing an  eruption  which  resembles  that  caused  by  the  touch  of 
Poison  Ivy. 

In  good  soil  the  stem  may  attain  to  a  height  of  ten  feet,  and, 
again,  it  will  adapt  itself  to  hard  conditions  and  bloom  when  less 
than  six  inches  tall ;  it  is  erect,  finely 
grooved,  bristly  with  short  hairs,  simple  or 
branching  from  the  base ;  when  cut  it  stools 
freely,  hastening  to  develop  new  fruiting 
branches.  Lower  leaves  spatulate  or  some- 
times cut-lobed,  tapering  to  petioles ;  upper 
ones  usually  entire,  lance-shaped  to  linear, 
finely  hairy,  much  crowded  on  the  stalks. 
Heads  in  panicled  clusters,  very  small  and 
very  numerous,  each  about  a  sixth  of  an 
inch  broad,  with  smooth,  cylindric  invo- 
lucre, nearly  concealing  the  very  small, 
white  rays.  Seeds  many  and  small,  with 
yellowish  brown  pappus.  (Fig.  305.) 

Means  of  control 

Where  not  too  abundant  to  make  the  task 
impracticable,  hand-pull  the  weeds  and  re- 
move them  from  the  ground,  for  the  woody 
stalks  contain  enough  nutriment  to  mature 
the  first-opened  flowers.  Burn  over  stubbles 

FIG.   305.  — Canada    on  infested  grain  fields  for  the  purpose  of 
Fleabane     (Engeron      .  ,     ^,,      , 

canadensis).    x }.  destroying  the  seeds  on  the  ground.     Mead- 

ows badly  "run  to  Horseweed"  should  be 
put  to  a  well-tilled  hoed  crop  before  reseeding.  Plants  of-  roadside 
and  waste  places  should  be  pulled  or  cut  in  early  bloom  or  before, 
for  the  protection  of  adjacent  property. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  441 

COTTON  ROSE 

Gifola  germdnica,  Dumort 

Other  English  names:    Herba  Impia,  Childing  Cudweed,  Downy- 
weed,  Owl's  Crown,  Hoarwort. 
Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:  June  to  September. 
Seed-time:   August  to  November. 
Range:  Atlantic  States,  New  York  to  Georgia. 
Habitat :  Dry  fields  and  pastures. 

Its  oddity  tempts  one  to  take  a  few  plants  to  the  home 
flower  garden  when  first  seeing  a  patch  of  this  weed.  Stems 
five  to  fifteen  inches  high,  simple  or  branching  from  the  base, 
the  whole  plant  grayish  white  with  soft  woolly 
hair.  Leaves  alternate  and  crowded  thick  on 
the  stem,  lance-shaped,  sessile,  acute,  erect, 
less  than  an  inch  long.  At  the  top  of  the  stalk 
is  bunched  a  dense  cluster  of  white-woolly  discoid 
flower-heads,  from  among  which  rise  several  short, 
leafy  branches,  like  the  stalk  below  but  more 
slender,  and  these  in  turn  may  have  a  bunch  of 
woolly  flower-heads  and  more  leafy  branches 
terminated  by  more  woolly  blossoms.  For  this 
odd  habit  of  bloom  it  is  called  Childing  Cud- 
weed, and  the  early  botanists  named  it  Herba 
Impia  because  the  children  so  undutifully  ex- 
alted themselves  above  their  mother.  (Fig.  306.) 

Means  of  control 

The  lowest  cluster  of  flower-heads  ripens  first, 

and   in   order  to  keep  them  from  reproduction    „,  ._, 

,         .  .  ,  Cotton  Rose  (Gi- 

the  plants  must  be  cut  as  soon  as  these  appear,    f0ia     germanicd). 

before  any  "children"  overtop  them.  x  J. 

PLANTAIN-LEAVED   EVERLASTING 
Antennaria  plantaginifdlia,  Richards 

Other  English  names :  Early  or  Spring  Everlasting,  Mouse-ear  Ever- 
lasting, White  Plantain,  Ladies'  Tobacco,  Pussy-toes. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  stolons. 


442  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

Time  of  bloom :   Late  March  to  June. 

Seed-time:  June  to  July. 

Range:   Labrador  to  Nebraska,  southward  to  Georgia  and  Texas. 

Habitat :   Dry  soil ;   open  woods,  upland  pastures. 

These  plants  have  dioecious  flowers  and  their  stoloniferous 
habit  causes  them  to  form  broad,  dense  patches,  the  fertile  and 
sterile  groups  commonly  distinct  but  very  neighborly.  Root- 
leaves  tufted  in  a  small  rosette,  obovate 
to  spatulate,  obtuse,  three-ribbed,  taper- 
ing to  petioles,  softly  white-woolly  on 
both  sides  but  more  so  beneath ;  leaves  of 
old  plants  sometimes  become  smooth  on 
the  upper  surface ;  stem-leaves  few, 
small,  and  sessile.  Stems  at  first  very 
short  but  often  lengthening  to  a  height 
of  six  inches  or  a  foot,  the  fertile  plants 
being  much  the  taller.  Heads  in  small 
corymbose  clusters,  each  head  less  than 
a  quarter-inch  broad,  the  pistillate  ones 
showing  two-cleft,  crimson  styles  and 
when  in  fruit  having  the  more  copious 
pappus ;  bracts  of  the  involucre  dry  and 
scarious,  those  of  the  fertile  heads  pur- 
plish brown  at  base,  with  narrow  white 
tips,  those  of  the  staminate  heads  with 
FIG.  307.  — Plantain-  broad  white  petal-like  tips.  After  fruit- 
i-ft  *e  plants  spend  their  energies  for 
the  remainder  of  the  growing  season  in 
sending  out  runners  with  young  plants  at  the  tips,  which  take 
root  and  extend  the  size  of  the  patches.  Cattle  leave  the  plant 
unmolested,  and  in  dry  fields  and  pastures  it  sometimes  "runs 
out"  much  of  the  grass.  (Fig.  307.) 

Means  of  control 

Disk-harrow,  fertilize  and  reseed  the  hilly  pastures  in  the  fall, 
first  removing  the  thickest  patches  of  the  weed  by  hoe-cutting. 
Cultivation  and  rotation  with  clover  is  the  best  remedy  for  ground 
not  so  hilly  as  to  be  in  danger  of  washing. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  443 

FIELD   CAT'S-FOOT 

Antennaria  neglecta,  Greene 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  stolons. 
Time  of  bloom :   April  to  June. 
Seed-time :   June  to  July. 

Range:  New  Brunswick  to  Wisconsin  and  Iowa,  southward  to  Vir- 
ginia and  Kansas. 
Habitat:   Fields,  meadows,  pastures,  and  waste  places. 

A  smaller  plant  than  the  preceding, 
but  with  much  longer  and  more  slender 
stolons.  Root-leaves  about  two  inches 
long,  tufted  in  small  rosettes,  narrow 
spatulate  or  wedge-shaped,  obtuse,  one- 
nerved,  smooth  above,  white-woolly  be- 
neath, entire,  sessile ;  stem-leaves  linear, 
very  small.  Stems  of  staminate  plants 
four  to  eight  inches  high,  the  fertile  ones 
often  nearly  a  foot  in  height  when 
mature.  Heads  in  racemose  clusters, 
similar  in  structure  to  those  of  the 
preceding  species.  (Fig.  308.) 

In  some  localities  the  Smaller  Cat's- 
foot,  A.  neodioica,  is  even  more  common, 
forming  large  matted  patches.  Its 
range  extends  from  the  North  Atlantic 
States  westward  to  the  Dakotas  and  it 
has  also  found  its  way  to  Northern  FIG.  308. —  Field  Cat's-foot 
Europe  (Antennaria  neglecta).  X  J. 

Means    of    control    the    same    as    for    the     Plantain-leaved 
Everlasting. 

SWEET,   OR   COMMON,   EVERLASTING 

Gnaphalium  polycephalum,  Michx. 
(Gnaphalium  obtusifdlium,  L.) 

Other  English  names:  Old  Field  Balsam,  Sweet  White  Balsam, 
Balsam  Posy,  Fragrant  Everlasting,  Many-headed  Everlasting, 
Chafeweed. 

Native.     Annual  or  winter  annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 


444  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 
Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range :  Nova  Scotia  to  Manitoba,  and  southward 
to  Florida  and  Texas. 

Habitat:    Old  fields  and  pastures,  open  woods. 

Although  grazing  cattle  pass  it  by  and  it 
usurps  the  place  of  plants  that  they  do  like, 
yet  it  would  be  one  country  pleasure  lost  to 
us  if  this  weed  were  entirely  gone  from  the  old 
fields  and  "brushlot"  pastures  which  it  fre- 
quents. Its  fragrance  is  one  of  the  most  de- 
lightful of  outdoor  odors  and  it  is  very  lasting. 

Stem  softly  woolly,  one  to  three  feet  tall, 
simple  or  branched  at  the  top.  Leaves  alter- 
nate, oblong,  very  narrow,  pointed,  sessile,  taper- 
ing toward  the  base,  dark  green  and  smooth 
above  but  densely  white-woolly  beneath,  the 
margins  slightly  wavy.  Heads  very  numerous, 
several  panicled  clusters  growing  on  a  plant. 
Each  head  is  oblong,  few-flowered,  with  pistil- 
late florets  in  the  outer  rows,  those  in  the 
center  perfect ;  involucral  bracts  appressed, 
white  and  papery,  sometimes  tinged  with 

c,         ^  3?9I-~  brown,  blunt-pointed,  the  outer  row  woolly  at 

Sweet  Everlasting  .        , 

(Gnaphalium  poly-  the   base.     Seeds   smooth   and   very  small,   the 

cephalum).    x  i.  pappus  tawny  yellow.     (Fig.  309.) 

Means  of  control ' 

Hand-pulling  or  close  cutting  while  in  early  bloom  will  prevent 
seed  development.     Hoe-cutting  of  winter  rosettes. 


CLAMMY  EVERLASTING 
Gnaphalium  decurrens,  Ives 

Other  English  names:    Clammy  Balsamweed,  Clammy  Cudweed, 

Winged  Cudweed. 

Native.     Annual  or  biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 
Seed-time:   September  to  October. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  445 

Range:  Quebec  to  British  Columbia,  S9uthward  to  Pennsylvania, 
Ohio,  Michigan,  and  Minnesota  and  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  to 
Arizona. 

Habitat:   Upland  pastures,  clearings,  open  woods. 

At  first  sight  and  smell  this  might  be  mistaken  for  Sweet  Ever- 
lasting, but  on  handling  it  the  white,  woolly  stem  is  found  to  be 
glandular  and  slightly  sticky.  Leaves  sharp-pointed,  slightly 
broader  than  those  of  the  preceding  plant,  smooth  above,  white- 
woolly  below,  sessile,  with  a  decurrent  base.  Heads  a  little  shorter 
and  thicker,  fragrant,  closely  clustered ;  their  involucral  scales  are 
cream-white  to  pale  brownish  yellow,  pointed  oval  in  shape,  the 
outer  row  woolly  at  their  bases. 

For  its  extermination  the  same  measures  are  necessary  as  for 
Sweet  Everlasting. 

LOW   CUDWEED 
Gnaphalium  uliginosum,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Marsh  Cudweed,  Wartwort,  Mouse-ear. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 

Seed-time :   September  to  November. 

Range:    Newfoundland  to   the   Saskatchewan,   southward  to  the 

states  bordering  on  the  Great  Lakes. 
Habitat:    Low  meadows,  sides  of  streams  and  ditches,  roadsides, 

and  waste  places. 

Although  this  plant  loves  moisture  and  is  a 
common  weed  of  flooded  ground,  it  can  adapt 
itself  to  very  different  conditions ;  the  writer 
found  the  specimen  from  which  this  description 
is  written  thriving  in  the  dry  ground  of  a  vacant 
city  lot.  (Fig.  310.) 

Stem  two  to  six  inches  tall,  with  many 
branches,  the  lower  ones  spreading  on  the 
ground,  making  it  much  broader  than  its  height. 
The  plant  is  covered  all  over,  stems  and  leaves, 
with  close-pressed,  white  wool.  Leaves  sessile, 

spatulate  to  lance-shaped,  narrow,  pointed,  and    _ 

,  1-11  i        i  •          Cudweed      r- 

but  one  or  two  inches  long.     Flower-heads  white,   uum    uliginosum). 

very  small,  in  close-packed  terminal  clusters  sur-   x  i. 


446  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

rounded  by  leafy,  white-woolly  bracts.  Involucral  scales  oblong, 
the  outer  ones  bluntly  rounded  and  woolly,  the  inner  rows  acute, 
dry  and  scarious,  yellowish  white.  Its  very  low,  spreading  habit 
of  growth  and  dense  white-woolliness  would  make  it  a  pretty 
border  plant  in  the  flower  garden  if  its  ambitions  in  regard  to 
bloom  and  fruitage  were  kept  nipped  in  the  bud. 

Means  of  control 

Hoe-cutting  or  hand-pulling  while  in  early  bloom,  making  cer- 
tain that  no  seed  has  developed. 


ELECAMPANE 
Inula  Helenium,  L. 

Other  English  names :  Horseheal,  Horse  Elder,  Seabwort,  Elf  Dock, 
Velvet  Dock,  Yellow  Starwort. 

Introduced.  Perennial.  Prop- 
agates by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  July  to  Sep- 
tember. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:  Nova  Scotia  to  Minne- 
sota, southward  to  North 
Carolina  and  Missouri. 

Habitat:  Old  fields,  pastures, 
roadsides,  barnyards,  and 
waste  places. 

In  former  days  a  small  patch 
of  this  plant  was  often  kept  by 
country  people  for  the  relief  of 
asthmatic  horses,  "to  help  the 
heaves" — the  thick,  fleshy,  mu- 
cilaginous, yellow  taproot  being 
the  part  used;  it  is  still  valued 
medicinally  and  collectors  receive 
three  to  five  cents  a  pound  for  it, 
collected  in  the  autumn  of  the 

FIQ.  311.  -Elecampane  (Inula  Hd-     second    V™    °f    growth'    sliced> 
enium).    x  I  and  dried. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  447 

The  plant  sends  up  in  the  first  year  only  a  clump  of  large  leaves, 
long  ovate,  light  green,  the  upper  surface  rough  but  the  under 
surface  downy-hairy,  sometimes  two  feet  in  length  and  six  or 
eight  inches  wide,  with  stout,  hairy  petioles.  Fruiting  stalks 
appear  in  the  second  year,  three  to  six  feet  tall,  stout,  hairy,  simple 
or  sometimes  branched,  the  leaves  alternate,  sessile  and  clasping. 
Heads  terminal,  solitary  or  few,  two  to  four  inches  broad,  on  stout, 
hairy  peduncles ;  rays  yellow,  numerous,  linear,  pistillate ;  disk- 
florets  perfect  and  fertile ;  bracts  of  the  involucre  triple-rowed,  the 
outer  ones  broad  and  leafy.  Achenes  brown,  smooth,  four-angled, 
with  a  pappus  of  bristly  hairs.  (Fig.  311.) 

Means  of  control 

Deep  cutting  with  sharp  spud  or  hoe,  dry  salt  or  carbolic  acid 
being  applied  to  the  shorn  root. 


COMPASS   PLANT 
Stlphium  laciniatum,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Pilotweed,  Polar  Plant,  Turpentine  Weed, 

Rpsinweed. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   July  to  September. 
Seed-time:   August  to  October. 
Range :  Michigan  to  the  Dakotas,  southward  to  Alabama,  Louisiana, 

and  Texas. 
Habitat :   Prairies ;    fields,  meadows,  and  pastures. 

Many  a  traveler  of  the  pioneer,  roadless  days  of  "going  west" 
found  this  plant  a  very  serviceable  compass,  for  its  large  leaves 
are  held  nearly  erect  with  their  edges  directed  north  and  south. 
It  is  a  vigorous,  grossly  feeding  weed,  with  large,  thick,  deep- 
boring  roots  which  yearly  send  up  huge  tufts  of  stout  stems,  four 
to  twelve  feet  tall,  bristly-rough,  and  sticky  with  resinous  juices. 
Leaves  alternate,  a  foot  or  more  long,  also  bristly-rough  on  both 
sides,  oblong,  pinnately  divided,  the  segments  narrow,  pointed, 
sometimes  cut-lobed  or  pinnatifid,  rarely  entire;  petioles  long, 
rather  stout,  with  dilated  and  clasping  base.  Heads  three  to  five 
inches  broad  and  very  showy,  sessile  or  with  very  short  peduncle. 


448  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

on  the  long,  naked  stalks  near 
their  summits ;  the  many  rays 
long,  yellow,  notched  at  their  tips, 
pistillate  and  fertile  ;  disk-florets 
orange-yellow,  perfect  but  ster- 
ile ;  bracts  of  the  involucre  nar- 
rowly ovate  with  long,  stiff 
points  spreading  nearly  as  wide 
as  the  rays.  The  achenes,  being 
the  fruit  of  the  ray  florets,  are 
in  rings  around  the  outer  edge 
of  the  heads,  each  about  a  half- 
inch  long,  brown,  flat,  oval,  and 
broadly  winged,  deeply  notched 
at  the  top,  without  pappus. 
(Fig.  312.) 

Means  of  control 

Cultivation  of  the  ground  is 
the  best  method  of  suppres- 
sion ;  but  if  not  desirable  to 

FIG.  312.  —  Compass  Plant  (Silphium  break  up  the  meadows  where 

the  plant  is  most  troublesome, 

it  should  be  cut  deeply,  below  the  crown,  with  a  sharp  hoe  or 

spud,  before  the  first  flowers  mature,  the  roots  being  salted  so  as  to 

check  new  growth. 

PRAIRIE  DOCK 

Silphium  terebinthinaceum,  Jacq. 

Other  English  names:   Rosin  Plant,  Prairie  Burdock. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:  August  to  October. 

Range :   Ontario  and  Ohio  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  Georgia  and 

Louisiana. 
Habitat:   Prairies  and  dry  woods,  meadows,  and  pastures. 

Terebinthine  is  the  ancient  word  for  turpentine,  and  the  resin- 
ous juice  of  this  and  the  preceding  weed  accounts  for  one  of  their 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  449 

common  names.  Stem  stout,  four  to  ten  feet  tall,  smooth  or  nearly 
so,  branching  at  the  top  into  a  loose  and  sprawling  panicle.  Leaves 
alternate,  mostly  basal,  a  foot  or  more  in  length  and  about  six 
inches  wide,  thick  and  leathery,  rough  on  both  sides  but  especially 
so  beneath,  heart-shaped  at  base  and  pointed  at  tip,  sharply 
toothed,  with  long,  stout,  grooved  petioles.  Heads  numerous,  two 
or  three  inches  broad,  with  many  long,  yellow  rays  which  are  pistil- 
late and  fertile ;  disk-florets  perfect  but  sterile ;  involucre  hemi- 
spheric, its  bracts  erect,  obtuse,  and  smooth.  Achenes  oblong, 
flat,  narrowly  winged,  slightly  notched  at  the  top,  and  two-toothed. 

Means  of  control 

Turning  out  the  perennial  roots  with  a  plow  in  the  fall  is  the 
surest  method  of  destruction ;  but  as  it  is  most  frequently  a  weed 
of  permanent  grasslands,  deep  cutting  with  sharp  hoe  or  spud, 
just  before  the  blooming  season,  is  the  next  best  remedy,  using  a 
handful  of  salt  on  the  cut  surface  of  the  roots  in  order  to  retard 
their  recovery. 

CUP   PLANT 
Silphium  perfolidtum,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Indian  Cup,  Ragged  Cup. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:     Ontario   to   the   Dakotas,    southward   to    Louisiana   and 

Texas. 
Habitat :   Prairies ;   meadows,  pastures,  and  waste  places. 

A  large,  stout  weed  with  square,  pale  green  stems,  often  more 
than  an  inch  in  thickness  at  the  base,  four  to  eight  feet  tall, 
growing  from  thick,  perennial  roots  in  great  tufts,  or  thickets. 
Leaves  opposite,  large,  broadly  oval,  pointed,  coarsely  toothed,  the 
upper  ones  united  at  their  bases  and  forming  rather  deep  cups 
which  retain  dew  and  rain.  Lower  leaves  very  large  and  abruptly 
narrowed  to  winged  petioles,  which  are  also  joined  at  base ;  for 
their  size  the  leaves  are  rather  thin,  and  are  of  a  sandpaper 
roughness  on  both  sides.  Flower-heads  few  because  of  the  curious 
progression  of  bloom ;  the  first  one  grows  from  the  center  of  a  cup, 
2o 


450 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


while  on  each  side  of  it  springs 
a  stalk,  taller  than  itself,  bear- 
ing a  leaf -cup,  which  in  turn 
will  have  a  central  head  and 
two  more  cup-bearing  stalks ; 
these  will  fork  again,  and  yet 
again,  the  series  being  some- 
times "four  stories  high,"  as 
an  observant  child  remarked. 
Each  head  resembles  a  small 
sunflower,  two  or  three  inches 
broad,  with  twenty  to  thirty 
narrow,  yellow  rays,  pistillate 
and  fertile;  the  disk-florets 
are  sterile;  involucral  bracts 
in  triple  rows,  broadly  ovate, 
and  conspicuous.  Achenes  en- 
circle the  outer  edge  of  the 
head,  as  only  the  rays  form 
fruit;  they  are  oval,  broad, 
brown,  flat,  notched  at  apex, 
winged  on  each  side,  with  a 

?aPPUS  Of  tW°  aWn-Hke  teeth" 

The  same  methods  of  exter- 
mination should  be  used  as  for  the  Compass  Plant.     (Fig.  313.) 


ROUGH   MARSH   ELDER 
Iva  cilidta,  Willd. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seed. 

Time  of  bloom :   August  to  October. 

Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range:    Illinois  to  Nebraska,  and  southward  to  Louisiana,  Texas, 

and  New  Mexico. 
Habitat :  Meadows  and  fields,  sides  of  streams,  and  waste  places. 

A  coarse,  unsightly  weed,  bristly  with  rough  hairs,  two  to  seven 
feet  in  height,  the  erect  stem  usually  simple  but  sometimes  branched 
and  often  mottled  with  different  shades  of  green.  Leaves  opposite, 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  451 

broadly  ovate,  pointed,  three-nerved,  coarsely  and  irregularly 
toothed,  narrowed  abruptly  to  bristly  petioles.  Heads  in  dense 
terminal  and  axillary  spikes,  subtended 
by  narrowly  lance-shaped,  spreading, 
very  hairy  bracts,  much  longer  than 
the  greenish  heads,  which  are  scarcely 
an  eighth  of  an  inch  in  diameter. 
Involucre  hairy,  its  bracts  three  to 
five,  distinct  or  sometimes  united  at 
base ;  central  florets  staminate ;  fertile 
florets,  marginal,  three  to  five.  Achenes 
about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  long,  with- 
out pappus,  similar  to  those  of  Poverty 
Weed  but  ribbed  on  the  face.  They 
are  to  be  guarded  against  in  alfalfa 
seed  from  the  Southwest.  (Fig.  314.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production.  Meadows 
infested  with  this  weed  should  be  har- 
vested early,  before  the  plants  have 
matured.  Its  bristly  and  woody  stems 
are  rejected  by  cattle  as  fodder,  and 
if  the  plants  are  not  extremelv  numer- 
ous  it  would  pay  to  remove 'them  by 
hand-pulling  from  a  good  stand  of  al- 
falfa. Plants  along  ditches  and  streams  should  be  destroyed 
by  hoe-cutting  or  mowing  while  young. 

HIGHWATER   SHRUB 

Iva  xanthifolia,  Nutt. 

Other  English  names:  False  Ragweed,  False  Sunflower,  Red  River 
Weed,  Halfbreed  Weed,  Burweed  Marsh  Elder. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:    Late  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range :  Michigan  and  Manitoba  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  south- 
ward to  Nebraska,  New  Mexico,  Colorado,  and  Utah. 

Habitat:   Grain  fields,  meadows,  cultivated  crops,  waste  places. 


452 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


Before  flowering,  this  coarse  weed  somewhat  resembles  the 
Great  Ragweed  (Ambrosia  trifida),  for  the  young  plants  have  nearly 
the  same  habits  of  growth  and  leaf  outlines ;  but  as  soon  as  they 
mature  the  likeness  disappears .  Stem  stout, 
woody,  and  shrub-like,  much  branched, 
three  to  eight  feet  tall.  The  lower  part  of 
the  plant  is  smooth,  but  the  upper  leaves 
and  branches  are  somewhat  roughened 
with  minute  hairs.  Leaves  mostly  op- 
posite, broadly  ovate,  coarsely  and  very 
irregularly  toothed,  roughish  above,  three- 
nerved,  narrowed  abruptly  to  a  stiff  peti- 
ole ;  the  lowermost  ones  are  sometimes 
heart-shaped,  six  inches  or  more  long  and 
nearly  as  wide.  Heads  small  and  green- 
ish, in  large  terminal  panicles  and  lesser 
axillary  clusters,  sessile  and  closely  crowded 
on  the  branchlets;  they  are  scarcely  an 
eighth  of  an  inch  broad,  the  disk-florets 
perfect  but  sterile ;  surrounding  these  are 
usually  five  fertile  pistillate  flowers,  with 
very  short  tubes  or  none  at  all.  Achenes 
usually  five  in  each  head,  about  an  eighth 
of  an  inch  long,  ovoid,  slightly  flattened, 
varying  in  color  from  light  brown  to  nearly  black,  without  pappus. 
They  are  sometimes  found  as  an  impurity  in  alfalfa  seed.  (Fig. 
315.) 


FIG.   315.  —  Highwater 
Shrub    (Iva    xanthifolia) . 


Means  of  control 

The  required  tillage  of  cultivated  crops  serves  to  keep  the  wreed 
in  subjection.  In  grain  fields  many  of  the  young  seedlings  may  be 
dragged  out  with  a  weeding  harrow  in  the  spring,  when  the  grain 
is  but  a  few  inches  tall.  The  slightly  roughened  surface  of  its 
upper  foliage  makes  this  weed  susceptible  to  injury  from  chemical 
spray,  and,  if  treated  in  time  with  Iron  sulfate  or  Copper  sulfate, 
all  seed  development  may  be  prevented.  Waste-land  plants  should 
be  cut,  piled,  and  burned  before  any  seed  has  ripened. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


453 


POVERTY  WEED 
Iva  axillaris,  Pursh. 

Other  English  name:   Small-flowered  Marsh  Elder. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom  :   June  to  August. 

Seed-time:  July  to  September. 

Range:    Manitoba  to  British  Columbia,  southward  to  Nebraska, 

New  Mexico,  and  California. 
Habitat  :   Cultivated  crops,  grain  fields,  meadows,  and  waste  places. 

A  very  pernicious  weed,  difficult  to  suppress  because  of  its  exten- 
sive system  of  tough,  woody  rootstocks  which  send  up  many  fruiting 
stalks,  causing  it  to  form  dense  patches,  crowding 
and  starving  all  other  growth.  It  intrudes  in 
most  crops  and  thrives  almost  anywhere,  but 
seems  to  have  a  preference  for  soil  that  is  alkaline. 
The  whole  plant  has  a  rank,  unpleasant  odor, 
causing  it  to  be  disliked  by  grazing  animals. 

Stems  six  inches  to  nearly  two  feet  high,  erect, 
diffusely  branched  and  very  leafy.  Leaves  nar- 
rowly oblong  or  obovate,  a  half  -inch  to  two  inches 
long,  somewhat  thick  and  fleshy,  rough-hairy, 
three-nerved,  entire  and  sessile  ;  the  lower  ones 
opposite,  those  near  the  top  alternate.  Heads 
inconspicuous,  solitary,  axillary,  and  drooping, 
the  central  florets  sterile;  bracts  of  the  involucre 
united  into  a  five-lobed  cup,  surrounding  the  fer- 
tile pistillate  florets  which  are  usually  four  or  five 
in  number.  Achenes  ovoid,  flattened,  sometimes 
keeled  on  one  side,  varying  in  color  from  green  to 
almost  black;  they  have  no  pappus.  (Fig.  316.) 


FIG.  31  6.— 
Poverty    Weed 

(Iva     axillaris). 
X  J. 


Means  of  control 

Prevent  all  seed  production  by  repeated  close  cuttings  through- 
out the  growing  season.  The  rootstocks  must  be  starved  to  death 
after  the  manner  of  Horse  Nettle  or  Perennial  Sow  Thistle,  by  short 
rotations  with  cultivated  crops  well  fertilized  and  so  well  tilled 
that  no  leaf-growth  is  permitted  to  store  the  weed's  underground 


454  COMPOSITAE   (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

stems  with  sustenance.  Alternate  with  such  crops  as  clover  and 
rye,  which  may  be  cut  often  for  soiling  or  may  be  plowed  under  to 
furnish  green  manure  for  another  well-tilled  hoed  crop. 

GREAT   OR   GIANT  RAGWEED 
Ambrosia  trifida,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Tall  Ambrosia,  Kinghead,  Crownweed,  Wild 
Hemp,  Big  BitterTveed,  Horseweed,  Horse  Cane. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range:   Nova  Scotia  to  Florida,  westward  to  the  Northwest  Terri- 
tory, Nebraska,  Colorado,  and  Arkansas. 

Habitat :   Moist,  rich  soil ;   fields  and  waste 


A  huge,  coarse  plant,  occupying  so  much 
room  and  feeding  so  grossly  that  crops  grow- 
ing with  it  are  crowded  and  starved  to 
death.  Its  usual  height  is  four  to  ten  feet, 
but  on  very  fertile  river  bottom-lands  it 
attains  to  twelve  and  even  fifteen  feet. 

Stem  stout,  tough,  woody,  widely  branched 
and  rough  with  bristly  hairs.  Leaves  also 
rough-hairy  and  varying  greatly  in  shape, 
often  more  than  a  foot  long,  mostly  three- 
parted,  but  some  may  have  five  lobes  and 
yet  others  may  be  ovate  or  lance-shaped; 
usually  they  are  coarsely  toothed  but  the 
smaller  upper  ones  are  often  entire ;  all  are 
opposite,  three-nerved,  the  petioles  stout  and 
margined.  Sterile  heads  in  racemes  six  inches 
to  a  foot  in  length,  their  involucres  three- 
ribbed  on  the  outer  side  with  scalloped 
margins.  Fertile  involucres  clustered  in  the 
axils  of  the  upper  leaves.  These  form  a 

fruit  a  quarter-inch  or  more  long,   brown, 
FIG.  317.  — Giant      ,          •  ,     /»  •       -11  •, 

Ragweed  (Ambrosia  tri-  obovoid,   five-   or   six-ribbed,   with   a   conic 

fida).    x  f.  beak    at    apex    surrounded   by   five   or   six 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  455 

shorter  spines  like  the  points  of  a  crown;  whence  its  names  of 
Kinghead  and  Crown  weed.  These  spines,  or  tubercles,  give  much 
trouble  in  cleaning  it  from  other  seeds,  as  they  catch  in  the  screens ; 
also  they  contain  air  spaces,  which  enable  the  fruits  to  float  on  water 
and  in  winter  to  be  blown  far  over  crusted  snow.  (Fig.  317.) 

Means  of  control 

When  young  and  tender,  Great  Ragweed  succumbs  readily  to  the 
blighting  touch  of  chemical  sprays.  But  if  allowed  to  approach 
maturity  it  pays  to  hand-pull  the  weed,  for  the  stout,  woody  stalks 
so  dull  and  break  the  blades  of  mowers  and  reapers,  cause  so  much 
waste  of  binding  twine,  and  are  so  clogging  to  the  feed-way  of 
threshing  machines,  that  the  earlier  handwork  is  really  an  economy. 
In  cultivated  crops  the  plant  gives  little  trouble,  being  killed  there 
while  young. 

COMMON   RAGWEED 
Ambrosia  artemisiifolia,  L. 

Other  English  names :  Roman  Wormwood,  Bitterweed,  Wild  Tansy, 
Hayweed,  Hogweed,  Carrotweed,  Stammerwort. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seed. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 

Seed-time :  August  to  November. 

Range:  United  States  and  Canada  from  Nova  Scotia  to  British 
Columbia,  southward  to  Florida  and  Texas. 

Habitat :   Dry  soil ;   cultivated  ground,  meadows,  waste  places. 

One  of  the  most  common  of  weeds,  intruding  almost  everywhere ; 
it  is  a  pest  in  meadows  and  pastures,  for,  though  cattle  do  not  relish 
its  bitter  juices,  they  will  sometimes  eat  it  when  better  forage  is 
scarce  and,  as  a  consequence,  yield  bitter  milk  with  a  bad  odor. 
After  the  removal  of  a  grain  crop  this  plant  nearly  always  springs 
up  in  the  stubble.  When  in  bloom  its  abundant  pollen  is  said  to 
cause  "hay  fever,"  and  it  is  dreaded  and  avoided  by  persons  sub- 
ject to  the  disease. 

Ragweed  has  rather  deep,  branching  roots,  from  which  the  stem 
rises  one  to  five  feet,  erect,  finely  hairy,  and  branching  freely. 
Leaves  alternate,  two  to  four  inches  long,  thin,  deep  green  above, 
paler  beneath,  twice  pinnatifid,  giving  the  plant  an  open,  feathery 


456  COMPOSITAE    (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

appearance.  Flowers  of  two  kinds,  the  staminate  heads  in  crowded 
spike-like  recemes  at  the  summit  of  the  plant  and  in  its  upper 
axils ;  the  involucres  top-shaped,  formed  of  five  to  twelve  united 
bracts,  and  containing  six  to  twenty  small,  greenish  flowers. 
Below,  in  the  axils,  concealed  by  clustering  bracts,  are  the  fertile 
involucres,  each  one  containing  a  single  flower,  the  elongated 
branches  of  its  style  protruding  from 
the  closed  and  pointed  crown ;  when 
mature  these  involucres  form  hard 
achene-like  fruits,  about  an  eighth  of 
an  inch  long,  ovoid,  with  a  beaked 
crown,  surrounded  by  four  to  six  spiny 
points.  Once  in  the  soil,  they  sur- 
vive for  years,  springing  up  when 
opportunity  offers ;  they  are  a  com- 
mon impurity  of  grain  and  grass  seed 
and  are  also  distributed  in  baled  hay. 
(Fig.  318.) 

Means  of  control 

The  thin,  softly  hairy,  and  wide- 
spread foliage  of  young  Ragweed  is 
very  susceptible  to  injury  from  chem- 
ical sprays,  and  an  application  of 
Copper  sulfate  or  Iron  sulfate  will 

kill  the  plants  in  multitudes  without 
FIG.  318.  —  Common  Ragweed     .    .  , 

(Ambrosia  artemisiifolia).     X  i     mJur^   tO   the   SraSS    °.r    Sram   am°nS 

which  they  are  growing.     In  clover 

fields  the  crop  is  slightly  injured  but  recovers  from  the  roots, 
which  the  weed-seedlings  seldom  do.  Infested  clover  fields 
that  are  not  treated  should  be  cut  early  before  the  flower- 
ing of  the  weed,  as  its  pollen  is  extremely  bitter  and  "cuts 
the  quality"  of  the  hay  even  more  than  its  dried  young  stalks. 
Stubbles  should  have  surface  cultivation  directly  after  harvest 
so  as  to  encourage  germination  of  seeds  in  the  soil,  when  the 
young  plants  may  be  killed  with  the  harrow,  or  they  may  be 
plowed  under  for  humus.  In  cultivated  ground  tillage  should 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


457 


be  continued  late,  as  it  is  the  plants  that  bloom  and  fruit  after 
cultivation  has  ceased  which  are  most  certain  to  foul  the  soil. 


PERENNIAL  RAGWEED 
Ambrosia  psilostachya,  DC. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range:    Illinois  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  southward  to  Texas, 

Mexico,  and  California. 
Habitat :   Rich  prairie  soil ;   invades  all  crops. 

This  is  a  much  harder  weed  to  combat  than  its  annual  relatives, 
for  one  must  have  a  care  in  cultivation 
not  to  break  up  and  spread  abroad  the 
creeping  rootstocks  and  thus  increase 
the  plague. 

The  plant  looks  very  like  the  smaller 
Ragweed,  but  is  stouter  and  grows  two 
to  six  feet  high.  Leaves  once  or  twice 
pinnatifid,  with  lobes  usually  acute, 
thick  and  bristly  instead  of  thin  and 
soft.  Male  flowers  very  abundant, 
on  numerous  long  racemes,  the  invo- 
lucres deeply  cup-shaped ;  fertile  flowers 
mostly  solitary,  the  small,  brown  achene- 
like  fruits  obovoid,  hairy,  short-pointed, 
with  fewer  tubercles  than  the  preceding 
species  or  sometimes  none  at  all ;  they 
are  often  found  in  grass  and  clover 
seed  and  in  baled  hay.  (Fig.  319.) 

Means  of  control 

Newly  infested  areas,  if  not  so  large 

as  to  make  the  method  impracticable, 

FIG.  319.  —  Perennial  Rag- 

should  have  prompt  treatment  with  a     weed  (Ambrosia  psilostachya). 
strong  herbicide  —  caustic  soda  or  hot     x  \. 


458 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


brine  —  the  soil  being  cleaned  of  all  plant-growth  for  a  season 
rather  than  allow  the  pest  to  gain  a  foothold.  Large  areas  can 
be  finally  suppressed  by  putting  the  ground  under  cultivation, 
plowing  deeply  during  very  dry  weather,  and  exposing  the  root- 
stocks  as  much  as  possible ;  after  this  summer  fallowing  put  in  a 
hoed  crop,  and  give  such  persistent  and  careful  tillage  as  to  kill 
surviving  rootstocks  by  depriving  them  of  leaf  growth. 


WHITE-LEAVED   FRANSERIA 

Franseria  discolor,  Nutt.) 
(Gaertneria  discolor,  Kuntze.) 

Other  English  names:  Bur  Ragweed,  Creeping  Ragweed. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 
Time  of  bloom :   July  to  September. 
Seed-time :   September  to  November. 

Range :  The  Plains  region  west  of  the  Missouri  River,  to  Wyoming, 
Colorado,  and  New  Mexico. 

Habitat :  Dry  soil ;  prairies ;  meadows 
and  pastures,  cultivated  fields,  waste 


FIG.  320.  —  White-leaved 
Franseria  (Franseria  discolor) . 
X*. 


A  near  relative  of  the  Common  Rag- 
weed, but  much  more  pernicious  be- 
cause of  its  creeping  rootstocks.  Stems 
twelve  to  eighteen  inches  tall,  much 
branched,  and  spreading,  hoary  with 
white  hairs.  Leaves  alternate,  smooth 
and  green  above  but  densely  white- 
woolly  beneath,  coarsely  toothed,  long 
and  bipinnate,  the  lobes  narrow  and 
very  irregular,  separated  by  narrow, 
winged  segments,  the  petiole  similarly 
winged.  Flowers  of  two  kinds,  the 
sterile  ones  in  narrow  terminal  racemes, 
the  heads,  about  one-sixth  of  an  inch 
long,  on  very  short  pedicels ;  the  fertile 

hea<Jf   ™  the  axil1S  bf loW'   ***&  °F  '" 
small   clusters;    the  involucre  forms   a 

tiny  bur,  about  a  sixth  of  an  inch  long, 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  459 

softly  hairy,  and  bearing  several  small,  sharp  prickles.  These 
burs  are  often  distributed  in  the  wool  of  sheep,  and  the  weed 
is  a  most  vexatious  one  to  owners  of  flocks.  (Fig.  320.) 

Means  of  control 

Like  all  weeds  that  keep  a  reserve  supply  of  food  in  underground 
storage,  these  are  very  hard  to  kill.  They  must  be  cut  close  to  the 
ground  in  early  summer,  while  in  their  first  bloom,  and  again  in 
September,  in  order  to  make  certain  that  no  seed  shall  be  matured. 
If  persistently  deprived  of  the  sustenance  supplied  by  leaf-growth 
the  rootstocks  must  finally  be  starved  to  death.  Large  areas  are 
best  subdued  by  deep  plowing  and  exposure  of  rootstocks  in  hot 
weather  as  recommended  for  Perennial  Ragweed. 

WOOLLY  FRANSERIA 

Franseria  tomentbsa,  Gray 
(Gaertneria  tomentdsa,  Kuntze) 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 
Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 
Seed-time:   September  to  November. 
Range:   Montana,  southward  to  Colorado  and  Kansas. 
Habitat:    Moist,  rich  soil;    cultivated  ground,  meadows,  pastures, 
and  waste  places. 

Similar  to  the  preceding  plant,  the  two  often  growing  in  company. 
It  is  larger,  the  stems  usually  one  to  three  feet  tall,  erect,  branching 
from  the  base,  covered  with  fine,  white-woolly  hair.  Leaves  softly 
woolly  on  both  sides  or  silky  and  ashy  above,  pinnately  three-  to 
seven-lobed,  with  segments  lance-shaped,  usually  toothed,  the 
middle,  or  terminal,  lobe  much  the  largest.  Sterile  racemes  usually 
solitary,  two  to  four  inches  long,  the  heads  crowded  and  a  little 
larger  than  F.  discolor.  Fertile  involucres  usually  solitary  in  the 
upper  axils,  about  a  quarter-inch  lo"ng,  softly  woolly,  and  set  with 
very  sharp  spines,  which  are  finely  hooked  at  the  very  tip  so  that 
sheep  and  other  animals  catch  them  at  a  touch  and  they  are 
even  more  readily  and  extensively  distributed  than  the  preceding 
species. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  preceding  plant 


460 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


SPINY   CLOTBUR 
Xdnthium  spinosum,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Spiny  cocklebur,  Thorny  Burweed,  Dagger- 
weed,  Dagger  Coeklebur,  Bathurst  Bur. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range:  Ontario  to  Florida,  westward  to  Illinois,  Missouri,  and 
Texas.  Also  abundant  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 

Habitat:   Warm,  moist  soil ;   invades  almost  any  crop. 

A  very  pernicious  weed  which  came  to  us  from  tropical  America. 
It  is  sometimes  cultivated  for  the  odd  appearance  of  its  white-veined, 
white-lined,  dark  green  leaves,  yellow 
spines,  and  green  burs.  But  these  last, 
with  their  hooked  spines,  are  so  easily 
transported  on  clothing  and  by  animals 
that  the  plant  should  be  considered  an 
undesirable  resident  of  any  neighborhood, 
particularly  as  the  fruits  retain  their 
vitality  for  years,  biding  the  time  when 
some  stirring  of  the  soil  shall  furnish 
them  the  needed  warmth  and  moisture 
for  germination.  It  is  a  worse  weed  than 
the  other  Cockleburs,  for  it  spreads  as 
freely  in  sod  lands  as  elsewhere.  (Fig. 
321.) 

Stem  one  to  three  feet  tall,  many- 
branched  and  hoary  with  whitish  hairs. 
Leaves  alternate,  two  to  five  inches  long, 
lance-shaped,  long-pointed,  and  narrow- 
ing to  short  petioles,  the  lower  ones  lobed 
and  the  upper  ones  entire,  white-woolly 

Fl?^32V~Spiny  Clot"  underneath  and  on  midribs  and  veins 
above.  Just  below  each  leaf  is  a  slen- 
der, yellow,  three-pronged  spine  about  an 
inch  long.  Flowers  of  two  kinds,  the  staminate  ones  in  short 
terminal  spikes,  the  heads  very  small  and  greenish,  like  the 
Ragweed.  Fertile  flowers  in  the  axils  below,  consisting  of  a 


bur  (Xanthiu 
xi. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  461 

pistil  with  its  cleft  style  slightly  exserted  from  a  hairy  and 
spiny  involucre  which  later  becomes  a  bur  about  a  half- 
inch  long,  with  two  straight  beaks  at  apex  and  a  covering  of 
short,  smooth,  hooked  spines.  The  burs  are  two-celled,  each  cav- 
ity containing  a  thick-coated,  dark  brown,  flattened  seed. 

Means  of  control 

In  pastures  and  meadows  the  plants  should  be  watched  for  and 
cut  off  in  May  or  June  with  a  sharp  hoe  or  spud ;  some  will  be  over- 
looked, to  appear  conspicuously  later,  bristling  with  spines  and 
burs ;  these  should  be  cut,  piled  to  dry  for  a  few  days,  and  burned. 
In  cultivated  ground  tillage  should  be  continued  late  in  order  to 
prevent  the  development  of  seed  from  late-blooming  flowers. 

CLOTBUR 

Xdnthium  canadense,  Mill. 

Other  English  names:    Cocklebur,  Sheepbur,  Buttonbur,  Ditchbur, 

Hedgehog  Burweed. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 
Seed-time:   September  to  November. 
Range:    Nova  Scotia  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  southward  to 

Texas  and  Mexico.     Abundant  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 
Habitat:    Rich,  moist  soil ;    cultivated  crops,  barnyards,  roadsides, 

and  waste  places. 

A  huge,  coarse  plant,  one  to  four  feet  tall,  branched,  and  widely 
spreading,  its  rough,  thick,  angled  stem  often  reddish  and  spotted 
with  brown.  Leaves  also  bristly  rough  on  both  sides,  alternate, 
large,  broadly  oval  to  heart-shaped,  with  toothed  edges,  strongly 
three-nerved  and  often  three-lobed,  with  long,  rigid  petioles,  often 
reddish  like  the  stem  and  contrasting  with  the  dark  green  of  the 
leaf  surface.  The  sterile  heads  are  clustered  at  the  ends  of  the 
branches,  small,  greenish,  and  inconspicuous,  resembling  those 
of  Ragweed;  below,  in  the  axils,  the  fertile  heads  are  densely 
clustered ;  these  are  thick,  green,  oblong,  densely  hairy,  and  spiny 
involucres,  from  which  is  thrust  a  style  with  two-parted  stigma ; 
these  involucres  develop  into  burs  nearly  an  inch  long,  with  a 


462  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

pair  of  strong,  hooked  beaks  at  the  tip  and  a  covering  of  hooked 
spines  which  enable  them  to  cling  to  a  garment  or  to  the  coats  of 
animals  for  a  ride  to  new  homes.  Each  bur  contains  two  "seeds," 
or  achenes,  oblong,  flat,  slightly  ridged,  with  a  tough,  black  coat, 
or  skin.  It  is  believed  that  one 
of  the  pair  germinates  the  first 
season  and  the  other  the  next, 
thus  assuring  a  two-years'  crop  for 
one  sowing.  But  the  entire  bur 
is  also  known  to  lie  dormant  in 
the  soil  for  several  years.  Sev- 
eral other  species  of  Clotbur  are 
common  and  all  are  about  as 
obnoxious  as  this  one  but  none 
ranges  so  widely  as  X.  canadense. 
(Fig.  322.) 

Means  of  control 

Hoe-cutting  while  the  plants  are 
small ;    or,   if  not   too   numerous, 
FIG.  322.  —  Clotbur  (Xanthium  hand-pulling   before   the   burs  are 
canadense).     x  J.  formed.     Put  infested  corn  land  to 

a  grain  crop,  followed  by  clover  or  grass,  the  harvesting  of  any 
of  which  beheads  the  weed  before  it  has  attained  to  much  size  or 
developed  the  burs.  In  its  tender  youth  (three  to  eight  inches  in 
height)  Clotbur  can  be  killed  by  a  spray  of  Iron  sulfate  or  Copper 
sulfate.  Plants  on  waste  land  or  roadside  which  have  been 
allowed  to  mature  their  burs  should  be  cut  and  burned. 

BLACK-EYED   SUSAN 
Rudbeckia  hirta,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Yellow  Daisy,  Golden  Jerusalem,  Darkey- 
head,  Nigger-head,  Ox-eye  Daisy. 

Native.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seed. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  October. 

Seed-lime:  July  to  November. 

Range:  United  States  and  Canadian  Provinces  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains. 

Habitat :   Prairies ;   meadows  and  pastures,  waste  places. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY} 


463 


A  plant  once  known  only  on  western  prairies, 
but  now  common  in  eastern  fields,  the  wide 
and  rapid  distribution  having  been  accom- 
plished by  impure  commercial  seeds  and  baled 
hay,  of  which  the  refuse  is  spread  on  the 
fields. 

Stems  one  to  three  feet  tall,  simple  or 
branching  near  the  base,  rather  stout,  bristly 
hairy.  Leaves  alternate,  oblong,  two  to  six 
inches  in  length,  thick,  hairy,  pointed  at 
both  ends,  entire,  or  slightly  wavy-toothed,  the 
lower  ones  spatulate,  three-nerved  and  with 
grooved  petioles,  those  on  the  stalks  sessile 
and  clasping.  Heads  two  to  four  inches  broad, 
solitary  on  long  hairy  peduncles,  the  rounded 
disk  brownish  purple,  its  florets  perfect  and 
fertile,  the  long  sterile  rays  brilliant  orange. 
Bracts  of  the  involucre  in  two  or  three  rows, 
spreading,  rough  and  hairy.  Achenes  black  or 
very  dark  brown,  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch 
long,  narrow,  four-angled  and  without  a  pap- 
pus. (Fig.  323.) 

FIG.  323.  —  Black- 
Means  OJ  control  eyed     Susan     (Rud- 

Being   biennial,    this   weed  is   readily  sup-    beckia  hiria^    x  *' 
pressed  by  pulling  or  close  cutting  before  its  seeds  develop.     But 
care  must  be  taken  that  it  is  not  continually  reintroduced   in 
poorly  cleaned  seed. 

PURPLE   CONE-FLOWER 

Braunbria  purpiirea,  Britton 

Other  English  names:   Red  Sunflower,  Black  Sampson. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  October. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range :  Virginia  to  Missouri,  southward  to  the  Carolinas,  Alabama, 

and  Louisiana.     Locally  in  the  Northern  States  from  New  York 

to  Michigan. 
Habitat:  Meadows,  fence  rows,  and  waste  places. 


464 


COMPOSITAE   (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


The  range  of  this  weed  is  being 
rapidly  extended  by  the  agency  of 
baled  hay  and  grass  seeds.  It  is  a 
handsome  plant,  two  to  four  feet 
tall,  with  slender,  rough-hairy  stem, 
usually  without  branches.  Leaves 
dark  green,  three  to  eight  inches  in 
length,  alternate  or  the  lower  ones 
opposite,  lance-shaped,  hairy,  long- 
pointed,  the  lower  ones  five-ribbed, 
toothed,  and  petioled,  the  upper  ones 
entire  and  sessile.  Heads  large,  soli- 
tary, with  a  conical  disk  having  deep 
purple,  tubular,  perfect,  and  fertile 
florets  surrounded  by  twelve  to 
twenty  large,  drooping  rays  which 
are  pistillate  but  sterile;  these  are 
dull  magenta-red,  about  two  inches 
long,  notched  at  their  tips.  Bracts 
of  the  involucre  imbricated  in  three 
to  five  rows,  rather  soft  and  lax, 
nearly  linear,  and  finely  hairy. 

FIG.  324.  —  Purple  Cone-flower    Achenes  short  and  thick,  the  pappus 
a  toothed  crown.     (Fig.  324.) 


(Brauneria  purpurea).     X  \. 


Means  of  control 

If  the  infestation  is  new  and  the  area  not  too  large,  it  will  pay  to 
rid  the  soil  of  the  perennial  roots  by  hand-pulling  the  plants  before 
the  development  of  seed.  Rankly  infested  ground  requires  to  be 
put  under  cultivation. 


PRAIRIE   CONE-FLOWER 

Lepachys  columnaris,  T.  &  G. 
(Ratibida  columnaris,  D.  Don.) 

Other    English    names:     Long-headed    Cone-flower,    Cone-headed 

Daisy. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   May  to  August. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY} 


465 


Seeed-time:  June  to  September. 

Range:  Minnesota  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  southward  to 
Texas  and  Arizona.  Also  in  Tennessee  and  locally  in  the  Eastern 
States.  . 

Habitat:   Meadows,  roadsides,  and  waste  land. 

Like  its  relatives,  the  Black-eyed  Susan 
and  Purple  Cone-flower,  this  plant  has 
been  introduced  in  a  number  of  widely 
separated  localities  by  the  agency  of 
western  baled  hay  and  grass  seeds. 
Stem  one  to  nearly  three  feet  tall, 
branching  from  the  base,  slender  and 
beset  with  stiff,  bristly  hairs.  Leaves 
alternate,  dark  green,  thick,  rough-hairy, 
strongly  ribbed,  pinnately  divided  into 
narrow,  long-pointed  segments  ;  those 
on  the  stem  are  sessile  or  have  very 
short  petioles  ;  those  at  the  base  have 
long,  slender  petioles  and  fewer  seg- 
ments; occasionally  some  are  undi- 
vided and  oblong.  The  heads  have 
an  elongated,  cone-shaped,  or  nearly 
cylindrical  disk,  often  more  than  an 
inch  in  length,  set  with  grayish  brown 
florets,  perfect  and  fertile,  the  corollas 
five-lobed  but  with  very  short  tubes  ; 
rays  neutral,  four  to  ten  in  number,  large 
and  drooping,  yellow  with  a  brownish 
purple  base  or  wholly  of  the  darker 
color.  Achenes  short  and  flattened,  with 

winged  margins,  and  a  pappus  of  one  or  two  awl-like  teeth.      (Fig. 
325.) 

Means  of  control  should  be  the  same  as  for  the  Purple  Cone- 
flower. 

COMMON   SUNFLOWER 

Helidnthus  dnnuus,  L. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 


FIG.  325.  —  Prairie  Cone- 
(Lepachys  columnaris). 


466  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:   Minnesota  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  southward  to 

Missouri  and  Texas.     Locally  in  the  Eastern  States. 
Habitat:  Meadows,  waste  places,  fence  rows,  roadsides. 

When  kept  within  bounds  this  is  a  useful  plant,  which  for  many 
years  has  been  extensively  cultivated  both  in  this  country  and  in 
Europe.  A  fine,  clear  oil  is  expressed  from  its  seeds,  which  are  also 
a  very  nutritious  and  fattening  food  for  poultry,  horses,  and  other 
stock.  Its  leaves  also  are  considered  good  fodder. 

In  rich  soil  some  of  the  cultivated  forms  attain  to  fifteen  feet 
in  height,  with  flower-heads  a  foot  or  more  across.  But  in  its  native 
home  on  the  western  prairies  the  stout,  rough  stem  is  usually  three 
to  eight  feet  tall,  branching  at  the  top.  Leaves  three  inches  to  a 
foot  in  length,  broadly  oval,  pointed,  three-ribbed,  rough  on  both 
sides,  with  stout,  hairy  petioles.  Heads  three  to  six  inches  broad, 
with  many  large,  bright  yellow,  sterile  rays ;  disk-florets  tubular, 
five-lobed,  dark  purple  or  brown,  perfect,  and  fertile.  Involucre 
depressed  with  oblong,  rough-hairy,  and  sharp-pointed  bracts. 
Achenes  large,  oblong,  nearly  smooth,  grayish  brown  with  white 
marginal  stripes,  with  a  deciduous  pappus  of  two  to  four  thin 
chaffy  scales. 

Means  of  control 

The  weed  is  readily  subdued  by  cultivation  of  the  soil ;  but  in 
meadows  and  other  ground  where  tillage  is  not  practicable,  seed  de- 
velopment should  be  prevented  by  cutting  or  pulling  the  plants  while 
in  their  first  bloom.  Plants  growing  along  roadsides,  banks  of 
streams,  and  waste  places  should  have  like  treatment. 


STIFF   SUNFLOWER 

Helidnthus  scaberrimus,  Ell. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  August  to  September. 

Seed-time :   September  to  October. 

Range :   Michigan  to  the  Saskatchewan,  and  southward  to  Illinois, 

Colorado,  and  Texas. 
Habitat:   Meadows,  waste  places,  borders  of  streams. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  467 

Stems  rough,  stout,  woody,  three  to  eight  feet  in  height,  simple  or 
with  a  few  branches  at  the  top.  Leaves  three  to  six  inches  long, 
lance-shaped,  pointed  at  both  ends,  thick  and  leathery,  rigid,  rough 
on  both  sides,  with  sharp  but  shallow  teeth  or  sometimes  entire,  and 
are  mostly  sessile,  only  the  lowermost  ones  narrowing  to  a  short, 
rigid  petiole.  Heads  few,  usually  solitary  at  the  ends  of  stem  and 
branches,  two  to  four  inches  broad,  with  twenty  to  twenty-five 
light  yellow  sterile  rays ;  the  fertile  disk-florets  are  purplish 
brown.  Achenes  oblong,  hairy,  crowned  with  two  broad  scales 
and  often  with  several  small,  sharp-pointed  awns. 

Means  of  control 

Most  readily  suppressed  by  cultivation  of  the  soil,  which  destroys 
the  perennial  roots ;  or  by  frequent  and  close  cutting  during  the 
growing  season,  which  starves  the  roots  and  prevents  seed  develop- 
ment. 

JERUSALEM   ARTICHOKE 

Helidnthus  tuberosus,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Tuberous  Sunflower,  Earth  Apple,  Girasole, 
Canada  Potato. 

Native.  Perennial.  Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  short,  tuber- 
bearing  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom :   August  to  September. 

Seed-time :   September  to  October. 

Range:  New  Brunswick  and  Ontario  to  the  Northwest  Territory, 
southward  to  Georgia  and  Arkansas. 

Habitat :  Hummocks  in  swamps ;  meadows,  fields,  roadsides,  and 
waste  places. 

Long  before  the  white  men  came  to  America  the  Indians  were 
rudely  cultivating  this  native  plant  for  its  edible  tubers,  which  are 
fleshy  and  sweet  and  afford  very  nourishing  food  for  man  and 
beast.  And  so  persistent  is  it  when  once  established  that  some  of 
the  aboriginal  patches  are  said  to  be  still  productive.  The  plant 
will  grow  almost  anywhere,  but  it  thrives  best  and  the  tubers  grow 
largest  in  moist  and  mellow  soil.  Stems  stout,  erect,  rough-hairy, 
four  to  twelve  feet  tall  and  branching  at  the  top.  Leaves  four  to 
eight  inches  long,  ovate,  pointed,  thick,  firm,  three-nerved,  saw- 
toothed,  rough  on  the  upper  side,  finely  hairy  beneath,  tapering 


468  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

abruptly  to  a  hairy  petiole ;  the  lower  ones  opposite  (sometimes 
in  whorls  of  three),  the  upper  ones  alternate.  Heads  about  three 
inches  broad,  with  twelve  to  twenty  bright  yellow  sterile  rays. 
Disk-florets  perfect  and  fertile,  tubular,  five-lobed,  and  lighter 
yellow  than  the  rays.  Involucre 
hemispheric,  its  spreading  bracts 
lance-shaped,  sharp-pointed,  and 
hairy.  Achenes  w^edge-shaped, 
four-sided,  hairy  on  the  angles, 
crowned  with  a  pair  of  awl-shaped 
scales  or  awns  which  quickly  fall 
away.  (Fig.  326.) 

Means  of  control 

Artichokes  are  very  fattening, 
and  a  profitable  way  of  clearing 
the  ground  of  their  presence  is  by 
turning  in  hogs  to  pasture  —  with 
untrammeled  snouts  —  in  the  au- 
tumn, when  the  tubers  are  most 
crisp  and  succulent.  Or  the  root- 
stocks  may  be  starved  by  close  and 
persistent  cutting  of  the  stalks  in 
early  summer,  when  their  stored 
sustenance  is  most  nearly  depleted,  allowing  no  new  growth  of 
leaves  for  replenishment.  Dry  salt  on  the  shorn  surfaces  is  an 
effective  aid  in  checking  new  growth. 

WINGED   IRONWEED 

Actindmeris  alternifdlia,  DC. 
(Verbeslna  alternifdlia,  Brit.) 

Other  English  names:   Yellow  Ironweed,  Wingstem. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  August  to  September. 

Seed-time:   September  to  October. 

Range:   New  York  and  New  Jersey  to  Ontario,  Iowa,  and  Kansas, 

southward  to  Florida  and  Louisiana. 
Habitat:   Meadows  and  pastures,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  469 

A  tall,  unsightly  weed,  growing  almost  anywhere  but  with  a  pref- 
erence for  rich,  moist,  bottom-lands  and  borders  of  streams.  Stem 
three  to  nine  feet  in  height,  hairy,  erect,  branching  near  the  top, 
winged  by  the  decurrent  leaf-bases,  very  hard  and  woody  when 
mature  and  therefore  troublesome  to  harvesting  machines.  Leaves 
four  inches  to  a  foot  long,  lance-shaped,  feather- veined,  saw-toothed, 
usually  rough  on  both  sides,  pointed  at  both  ends,  the  upper  ones 
mostly  extending  downward  on  the  stem.  Heads  numerous  in 
large,  corymbose  terminal  clusters ;  they  have  two  to  ten  drooping, 
pale  yellow  neutral  rays  of  irregular  size  (occasionally  none  at 
all),  and  a  darker  yellow,  globose  disk,  containing  about  thirty 
fertile  florets.  Bracts  of  the  involucre  spreading  or  deflexed,  one- 
to  three-rowed.  Achenes  broadly  wedge-shaped,  flattened,  and 
winged  with  a  pappus  of  two  diverging  awns. 

Means  of  control 

The  deep  perennial  roots  are  most  effectively  dealt  with  by 
thorough  cultivation  of  the  ground ;  where  that  is  impracticable, 
they  may  be  starved  by  close  cutting  in  May  and  June,  and  again  in 
August  and  September,  salt  being  used  on  the  shorn  surfaces  in 
order  to  retard  recovery.  Small  areas  may  be  grubbed  out  or  hand- 
pulled  when  the  ground  is  soft. 

SUNFLOWER   CROWNBEARD 
Verbeslna  helianthoides,  Michx. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  July. 

Seed-time:  July  to  August. 

Range:   Ohio  to  Iowa,  southward  to  Georgia  and  Texas. 

Habitat:   Dry  fields,  meadows,  and  waste  places. 

Another  pernicious  Composite,  which,  like  Black-eyed  Susan,  is 
broadening  its  range  by  the  agencies  of  commercial  seeds  and  baled 
hay.  Stem,  stout,  simple,  hairy,  two  to  four  feet  tall,  widely  four- 
winged  by  the  decurrent  bases  of  the  alternate  leaves ;  these  are 
two  to  four  inches  long,  narrowly  ovate,  rough  above  but  softly 
hairy  on  the  under  sides,  saw-toothed,  and  sessile.  Heads  few  in 
a  cluster  or  solitary,  two  or  three  inches  broad,  with  conical  disk 


470 


COMPOSITAE  (.COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


and  eight  to  fifteen  yellow  neutral  or  sometimes  pistillate  but  ster- 
ile rays  ;  involucre  hemispheric,  about  a  half-inch  high,  its  bracts 
closely  appressed,  lance-shaped,  and  gray-hairy.  Achenes  flattened, 
rough-hairy,  with  winged  border  and  pappus  of  two  divergent 
awns. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  development  and  distribution  by  close  cutting  while 
in  first  bloom.  Rankly  infested  ground  should  be  put  under  culti- 
vation in  order  to  destroy  the  perennial  roots,  but  small  areas  may 
profitably  be  hand-pulled  or  grubbed  out. 


encelioides). 


GOLDEN  CROWNBEARD 

Verbesma  encelioldes,  B.  &  H. 
(Ximenesia  encelioldes,  Cav.) 

Native.    Annual.    Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:  June  to  August. 
Seed-time  :   July  to  September. 
Range:    Montana   southward    to   Arizona 

and  Texas,  to  Florida. 
Habitat:     Fields,    meadows,     and    waste 

places. 

A  very  common  weed  in  its  range, 
which  is  rapidly  extending,  the  plant 
having  appeared  locally  as  far  east  as 
Maine.  It  intrudes  in  nearly  all  crops, 
appropriating  an  injurious  amount  of  the 
soil  fertility. 

Stem  one  to  two  feet  tall,  much  branched 
and  densely  hairy.  Leaves  alternate, 
ovate,  abruptly  narrowed  or  heart  -shaped 
at  base,  irregularly  but  sharply  toothed, 
the  upper  surface  green,  but  beneath  pale 
with  a  covering  of  ashy-gray  hairs  ;  peti- 
oles usually  winged  and  often  having  a 
spading,  auricular  appendage  at  base. 
Heads  numerous,  one  to  two  inches 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  471 

broad,  with  twelve  to  fifteen  pistillate  and  fertile  bright  golden 
rays,  three-toothed  at  tips ;  disk  florets  perfect  and  fertile,  brown- 
ish yellow ;  involucre  about  one-half  inch  high  with  lance-shaped, 
spreading,  hairy  bracts.  Achenes  of  the  disk  florets  narrowly 
obovate,  flattened,  hairy,  broadly  winged,  with  a  pappus  of 
two  needle-like  awns ;  those  of  the  rays  thickened,  rough- 
wrinkled  and  usually  without  awns  or  wings.  (Fig.  327.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production.  In  grain  fields  the  weed  seedlings  may 
be  harrowed  out  in  spring  when  the  crop  is  but  a  few  inches  above 
the  ground.  Plants  which  survive  this 
treatment  may  profitably  be  hand-pulled, 
the  increased  returns  paying  for  the  labor. 
Grasslands  should  be  harvested  before 
the  first  flowers  mature,  and  all  waste 
places  receive  attention. 

LANCE-LEAVED   TICKSEED 
Coreopsis  lanceoldta,  L. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  May  to  August. 
Seed-time:   June  to  September. 
Range:   Western  Ontario  to  Virginia  and 

Florida.     Locally  in  the  Eastern  States. 
Habitat:   Meadows,  fence  rows,  roadsides, 

and  thickets. 

A  plant  often  cultivated  because  of  the 
showy  beauty  of  its  flowers,  and  freely 
escaping.  Stem  one  to  two  feet  in  height, 
branching  from  the  lower  part,  smooth,  or 
slightly  downy  near  the  base.  Leaves  op- 
posite, two  to  six  inches  long,  lance-shaped 
or  the  lowest  spatulate,  tapering  to  petioles 

which  partly  clasp  the  stem;  upper  ones  FIQ  328  —Lance- 
sessile,  all  entire,  with  rough  edges.  Heads  leaved  Tickseed  (Coreopsis 
solitary,  about  two  inches  broad,  on  slen-  lanceolata).  x  1. 


472  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

der,  naked  peduncles  often  a  foot  in  length ;  disk  florets 
perfect,  fertile,  the  five-lobed  corollas  purplish  brown ;  rays 
six  to  ten,  neutral,  bright  yellow,  broadest  at  apex,  and  three- 
lobed  with  the  middle  lobe  notched.  Involucre  hemispheric,  its  ' 
bracts  in  two  rows,  the  outer  ones  narrower  than  the  inner  and 
not  so  long.  Achenes  rounded  oblong,  broadly  winged,  crowned 
with  two  short  teeth.  (Fig.  328.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevention  of  seeding  by  repeated  cutting,  which  will  also 
finally  starve  the  roots.  Cultivation  of  the  soil  at  once  destroys 
the  weed. 

TALL  TICKSEED 
Coredpsis  tripteris,  L. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  October. 

Seed-time :  August  to  November. 

Range:    Pennsylvania   to   Wisconsin,   southward   to   Florida  and 

Louisiana. 
Habitat:  Meadows,  fence  rows,  open  woods,  and  thickets. 

A  tall,  graceful  species,  common  in  Southern  and  Western  States 
and  sometimes  cultivated  and  escaping  in  the  East.  Stem  three  to 
eight  feet  high,  round,  smooth,  slender,  branching  at  the  top. 
Leaves  opposite,  three  to  six  inches  or  more  in  length,  thick,  firm, 
the  lower  ones  usually  three-parted  with  entire,  lance-shaped  seg- 
ments ;  upper  leaves  undivided,  lance-shaped,  entire,  all  with  rough 
edges  and  pinnate  veins.  Heads  very  many,  about  an  inch  and  a 
half  broad,  on  slender  peduncles,  in  open  corymbose  clusters ;  rays 
six  to  ten,  obtuse,  entire,  bright  golden  yellow;  disks  brownish; 
outer  bracts  of  the  involucre  linear,  obtuse,  spreading,  united  at 
base,  much  narrower  than  the  ovate,  pointed,  inner  ones ;  when 
rolled  between  the  fingers  the  heads  exhale  the  odor  of  anise. 
Achenes  oblong  elliptic,  narrowly  winged,  and  without  a  pappus. 

Means  of  control 

Prevention  of  seeding  and  starvation  of  the  roots  by  persistent 
cutting.  Hand-pulling  or  grubbing  out  the  roots. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


473 


BEGGAR-TICKS 
Bldens  frondosa,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Bur  Marigold,  Stick-tight,  Devil's  Bootjack, 

Pitchfork  Weed. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seed. 
Time  of  bloom:  July  to  September. 
Seed-time:  August  to  October. 

Range :   Throughout  United  States  and  southern  British  America. 
Habitat :  Moist  soil ;  gardens,  fields,  pastures,  roadsides,  and  waste 

places. 

All  the  Bidens  are  most  annoying  weeds  and  this  one  is  perhaps 
the  most  so  because  it  is  everywhere.  Stem  two  to  five  feet  high, 
erect,  smooth  or  nearly  so,  often 
purplish  in  color,  with  spreading 
branches.  Leaves  opposite,  usually 
smooth,  the  lower  ones  generally 
five-lobed  with  terminal  segments 
long-pointed  and  often  again  di- 
vided ;  upper  ones  three-parted  or 
sometimes  lance-shaped,  all  sharply 
toothed;  petioles  slender,  and 
grooved  on  the  upper  side.  Heads 
numerous,  about  a  half-inch  long,  on 
slender  peduncles ;  involucre  double, 
with  an  outer  row  of  five  to  eight 
leafy  and  spreading  bracts,  spatu- 
late,  with  edges  hairy  at  base,  much 
exceeding  the  heads  in  length;  the 
inner  row  short,  with  scarious  mar- 
gins ;  rays,  when  present,  yellow, 
very  small  and  inconspicuous,  sterile ; 
disk-florets  tubular,  orange-yellow, 
five-toothed,  perfect,  and  fertile. 
Achenes  wedge-shaped,  black,  flat, 
ridged  down  the  center  of  each  face,  the  apex  bearing  two  di- 
verging, downwardly  barbed  awns,  which  enable  them  to  attach 
themselves  to  clothing  and  to  the  coats  of  animals,  particularly 
sheep,  and  so  ensure  a  wide  distribution.  (Fig.  329.) 


FIG.  329.  —  Beggar-ticks  (Bidens 
frondosa).     X  i- 


474  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production  by  mowing,  hoe-cutting,  or  hand-pulling 
the  pests  while  in  first  bloom  or  earlier.  Cultivation  of  the  soil 
destroys  it  and  good  drainage  is  a  discouragement  to  this  weed, 
for  it  prefers  the  ground  damp. 


BIG  BEGGAR-TICK 

Bidens  vulgata,  Greene 

Native.    Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   August  to  October. 

Seed-time:    September  to  November. 

Range:    Ontario  to  British  Columbia,  southward  throughout  the 

United  States,  but  not  common  in  the  eastern  part. 
Habitat :   Moist  soil ;    fields,  waste  places. 

Much  taller  than  the  preceding  plant,  sometimes  attaining  eight 
feet  or  more,  smooth,  and  much  branched.  Leaves  pinnately  three- 
to  five-parted,  with  slender  petioles  and  long-pointed,  coarsely 
toothed  leaflets.  Heads  large,  often  an  inch  or  more  broad,  on 
stout  peduncles;  involucre  of  ten  to  sixteen  outer  bracts,  usually 
longer  than  the  disk,  bristle-edged,  unequal ;  the  inner  row  short, 
with  abruptly  narrowed  tips ;  rays  when  present,  pale  yellow,  small, 
neutral ;  disk-florets  funnel-form,  four-  to  five-toothed,  also  pale 
yellow.  Achenes  oblong  wedge-shaped,  brown  or  olive,  very  flat, 
the  faces  usually  smooth  but  sometimes  roughened  with  fine  tuber- 
cles, the  awns  and  the  upper  part  of  the  achenes  downwardly 
barbed. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  preceding  species. 


LEAFY-BRACTED   TICKSEED 

Bidens  comdsa,  Wiegand 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  August  to  October. 

Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range:  Maine  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  Colorado,  Georgia,  and 

Louisiana. 
Habitat :  Moist  rich  soil ;  fields,  banks  of  streams,  waste  places. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  475 

Stem  one  to  three  feet  high,  stout,  erect,  smooth,  pale  green,  with 
short,  stout  branches.  Leaves  light  green,  lance-shaped,  regularly 
toothed,  pointed  at  both  ends,  with  winged  petioles  or  the  upper 
ones  sessile.  Heads  large,  on  short,  stout  peduncles,  the  outer 
bracts  of  the  involucre  six  to  eight,  lance-shaped,  large,  and  leaf- 
like,  often  toothed,  erect,  their  height  sometimes  two  to  five  times 
exceeding  the  disk;  rays  wanting;  disk-florets  funnel-shaped, 
four-lobed,  pale  yellow.  Achenes  brown  or  olive,  nearly  a  half- 
inch  in  length,  flat,  smooth  or  nearly  so,  three-awned,  the  outer  ones 
nearly  three-fourths  as  long  as  the  achene,  the  central  one  usually 
shorter,  and  all  barbed  downward. 

Control  of  the  weed  depends  on  allowing  none  of  the  plants  to 
mature  their  fruits. 

SWAMP  BEGGAR-TICKS 

Bldens  connata,  Muhl. 

Other  English  names:   Purple-stemmed  Stickseed,  Harvest  Lice. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:    August  to  October. 

Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range:    New  England  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  the  Carolinas 

and  Missouri. 
Habitat :   Wet  meadows  and  fields,  banks  of  streams,  and  ditches. 

This  native  American  has  established  itself  in  Europe,  where  it 
is  very  cordially  disliked.  Stem  one  to  six  feet  or  more  tall,  erect, 
smooth,  purple,  branching  freely.  Leaves  deep  green,  usually 
undivided  or  some  of  the  lower  ones  three-cleft,  narrowly  lance- 
shaped,  coarsely  toothed,  with  long,  slender  petioles.  Heads 
about  a  half-inch  broad,  numerous,  on  short,  slender  peduncles, 
the  outer  bracts  of  the  involucre  few,  obtuse,  entire,  extending  not 
far  above  the  head ;  rays  usually  wanting,  but,  when  present,  golden 
yellow;  disk  florets  orange-yellow,  five-lobed.  Achenes  dark 
brown,  rather  thick,  wedge-shaped,  tubercled,  four-angled,  four- 
awned,  or  the  outer  row  flattened  on  one  side  and  three-awned, 
the  sides  of  achene  and  awns  downwardly  barbed. 

Means  of  control 

Drainage  and  cultivation  of  the  ground ;  prevention  of  seeding 
by  frequent,  close  cutting. 


476 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


NODDING   BUR   MARIGOLD 
Bldens  cernua,  L. 

Other  English  names :  Double-tooth,  Water  Agrimony. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  October. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range:   Nova  Scotia  to  British  Columbia,  southward  to  the  Caro- 

linas,  Missouri,  and  California ;  also  in  Europe  and  Asia. 
Habitat:   Marshy  meadows,  swamps,  and  along  streams. 

This  species,  usually  in  company  with  the  similar,  but  larger, 
BROOK  SUNFLOWER  (BUens  laevis,  B.S.P.),  often  covers  acres  of 
lowlands  with  yellow  bloom,  to  be  suc- 
ceeded by  the  clutching  brown  fruits.  It 
is  small,  six  to  thirty  inches  high,  pale 
green,  smooth,  or  sometimes  slightly 
rough-hairy,  rather  stout,  with  short 
branches.  Leaves  opposite,  narrowly 
lance-shaped,  sessile,  often  joined  at  base, 
edged  with  coarse,  distant,  and  unequal 
teeth.  Heads  numerous,  large,  broader 
than  their  height,  the  peduncles  short  and 
at  first  erect  but  drooping  after  fertiliza- 
tion; rays  often  lacking,  but,  when  pres- 
ent, bright  yellow,  exceeding  the  length 
of  the  disk  by  about  one-half ;  disk-florets 
orange-yellow,  five-lobed  ;  outer  bracts  of 
the  involucre  longer  than  the  head,  usually 
bristle-fringed  and  spreading;  the  inner 
row  short,  ovate,  pointed,  with  yellowish, 
scarious  margins.  Achenes  wedge-shaped, 
FIG.  330.  —  Nodding  Bur  dull  brown,  four-angled,  four-awned,  an- 
Marigold  (Bidens  cernua).  g}es  an(j  awns  barbed  downward,  causing 
these  fruits  to  be  even  more  readily  at- 
tached to  clothing  and  the  coats  of  animals  than  those  of  the 
preceding  species.  (Fig.  330.) 

'  The  same  measures  for  suppression  are  necessary  as  for  the 
Swamp  Beggar-tick. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


477 


SPANISH   NEEDLES 
Bldens  bipinndta,  L. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  October. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range:    Rhode   Island  to  Nebraska  and  Arizona,   southward 

Florida  and  Mexico.     Also  in  Europe  and  Asia. 
Habitat:    Gardens,  fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 


to 


Satisfied  if  the  soil  is  only  moderately  moist,  this  weed  often 
makes  itself  troublesome  in  fields  of  Indian  corn  and  other  cultivated 
crops,  maturing  seeds  after  the  horse- 
hoe  culture  has  ceased.  Stems  slender 
with  many  spreading  branches,  one  to 
five  feet  tall,  erect,  smooth,  and  four- 
sided.  Leaves  pinnately  twice  or  thrice 
divided,  the  segments  broadly  lance- 
shaped,  deeply  cut  and  toothed,  op- 
posite or  the  uppermost  sometimes  al- 
ternate; petioles  slender  and  grooved. 
Heads  usually  numerous,  on  long,  ridged, 
and  angular  peduncles;  outer  bracts 
of  the  involucre  linear,  shorter  than 
the  inner  ones  which  are  broader  and 
acutely  pointed ;  rays  small  and  few, 
pale  yellow  with  dark  veins ;  disk-florets 
yellow  and  five-lobed.  Achenes  brown, 
nearly  three-fourths  of  an  inch  long, 
slim,  spindle-shaped,  four-angled,  usu- 
ally tipped  with  four  rather  short,  awl- 
like,  diverging  awns,  barbed  downward. 

(Fig.  331.) 

FIG.  331.  — Spanish  Needles 

(Bidens  bipinnata).     X  J. 
Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production,  continuing  the  tillage  of  cultivated 
crops  late  or  hand-pulling  the  late-flowering  remnant  of  the  weed 
growth.  All  waste-land  plants  should  be  cut  several  times  during 
the  growing  season. 


478  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

TICKSEED   SUNFLOWER 
Bidens  trichosperma,  Britton 

Native.     Annual  or  biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   August  to  October. 

Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range:    Massachusetts  to  Georgia,  and  inland  to  Kentucky  and 

Illinois. 
Habitat:    Marshy  meadows  and  swamps,  banks  of  streams,  and 

often  in  drier  situations,  along  roadsides  and  in  waste  places. 

Stem  smooth,  obscurely  four-sided,  two  to  five  feet  in  height, 
much  branched.  Leaves  pinnately  three-  to  seven-lobed,  with 
short,  grooved  petioles,  the  segments  narrowly  lance-shaped, 
pointed,  and  sharply  toothed ;  uppermost  ones  sometimes  undivided, 
sessile  or  nearly  so.  Heads  many,  about  two  inches  broad,  on 
slender  peduncles,  in  loose,  corymbose  clusters ;  involucre  nearly 
hemispheric,  the  outer  bracts  linear  to  spatulate,  extending  scarcely 
at  all  beyond  the  broader  inner  ones ;  rays  about  an  inch  long, 
obtuse  at  tips,  entire,  bright  golden  yellow.  Achenes  narrowly 
wedge-shaped,  crowned  with  two  short,  stout,  three-angled  awns. 

Despite  its  beauty,  the  weed  should  be  destroyed  in  the  same 
manner  as  Bidens  frondosa. 

WESTERN  TICKSEED   SUNFLOWER 
Bidens  aristosa,  Britton 

Native.     Annual  or  biennial.     Propagates  by  seed. 

Time  of  bloom :   August  to  October. 

Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range :  Ohio  and  Michigan  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  Mississippi 

and  Louisiana. 
Habitat:   Prairies,  moist  meadows,  swamps,  banks  of  streams,  and 

ditches. 

Stem  one  to  three  feet  tall,  slender,  and  much  branched.  Leaves 
pinnately  five-  to  seven-lobed,  the  segments  slenderly  lance-shaped, 
pointed  at  both  ends,  sharply  cut  and  toothed,  slender-petioled, 
softly  hairy  on  the  under  side ;  upper  leaves  with  fewer  lobes  on 
very  short  petioles,  or  lance-shaped  and  sessile.  Heads  numerous, 
one  to  two  inches  broad,  on  slender  peduncles,  in  loose,  open 


COMPOSITAE   (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


479 


FIG.  332.  — Western  Tickseed 
Sunflower  (Bidens  aristosa) . 
Xi. 


clusters ;  outer  bracts  of  the  invo- 
lucre eight  to  ten,  linear  or  spatu- 
late,  not  exceeding  the  inner  row; 
rays  six  to  ten,  broad,  obtuse,  bright 
golden  yellow.  Achenes  obovoid,  flat, 
rough-hairy,  tipped  with  two  (occa- 
sionally four)  slender,  diverging  awns, 
sometimes  as  long  as  the  achene  itself 
or  sometimes  reduced  to  short  teeth ; 
the  barbs  on  the  awns  and  on  the  sides 
of  the  achenes  are  on  some  directed 
downward,  on  others  upward.  (Fig. 
332.) 

Means  of  suppression  the  same  as 
for  Bidens  frondosa. 

TAR  WEED 

Madia  sativa,  Molina 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   May  to  October. 

Seed-time:   June  to  November. 

Range :   Pacific  Coast  from  California  to  Washington. 

Habitat :   Fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

A  most  unpleasant  weed,  covered  with  a  viscid,  ill-scented  excre- 
tion which  injures  everything  that  it  touches,  from  the  crops  among 
which  it  is  harvested  to  the  clothing  of  passers-by.  None  of  the 
native  Tarweeds  are  so  offensive  as  this,  which  is  an  immigrant  from 
Chile.  A  remarkably  sweet  and  limpid  oil  is  expressed  from  the 
seeds,  good  for  table  use  and  particularly  valuable  for  a  lubricant, 
as  it  does  not  readily  congeal ;  in  order  to  obtain  this  oil  the  plant  is 
extensively  cultivated  in  South  America  and  in  Europe.  Stem 
stout,  one  to  four  feet  tall,  finely  hairy,  beset  with  viscid,  pedicel- 
late glands.  Leaves  alternate,  entire,  varying  from  broad  lance- 
shape  below  to  linear  above,  all  sticky  and  strong-scented.  Heads 
numerous,  sessile  or  on  short  peduncles  at  the  ends  of  the  short 
branches  and  in  the  upper  axils ;  they  are  about  three-fourths  of  an 
inch  broad,  with  eight  to  twelve  pale  yellow  rays  and  darker  disk. 


480  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

Both  ray  and  disk  florets  are  fertile ;  bracts  of  the  involucre  in  a 
single  series,  strongly  keeled,  and  hairy.  Disk  achenes  are  oblong, 
wedge-shaped,  and  four-angled,  those  of  the  rays  longer  and  curved. 
As  soon  as  ripe  they  fall  readily  from  the  receptacle,  and  nearly 
matured  plants  should  never  be  left  on  the  ground  when  cut  as  the 
seeds  ripen  on  the  stalks. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production  by  close  and  repeated  cutting  through- 
out the  growing  season. 

GALINSOGA 

Galinsdga  parviflbra,  Cav. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  November. 
Seed-time:  July  to  December. 
Range :  Massachusetts  to  Oregon,  south- 
ward to  Georgia  and  Mexico. 
Habitat :   Gardens,  roadsides,  and  waste 
places. 

An  immigrant  from  South  America 
which  has  also  crossed  the  ocean  and 
been  reported  as  troublesome  in  southern 
Europe.  Stem  one  to  two  feet  tall, 
pale  green,  slender,  many-branched  and 
spreading,  sparsely  clothed  with  ap- 
pressed  hairs.  Leaves  opposite,  ovate, 
thin,  three-nerved,  scallop-toothed,  acute 
at  apex,  the  lower  ones  narrowing  to 
slender  petioles,  the  upper  ones  sessile 
or  nearly  so.  Heads,  hardly  a  quarter- 
inch  broad,  solitary  on  short,  slender 
peduncles,  terminal  and  in  the  upper 
axils;  rays  white,  very  short,  three- 
toothed,  pistillate,  fertile;  disk-florets 
yellow,  perfect,  and  fertile ;  bracts  of 

FIG.  333.  —  Galinsoga  (Ga-  the  involucre  smooth,  the  outer  row 
linsoga  parmfiora).  x  I  shorter.  Achenes  very  small,  dark, 

four-sided,  wedge-shaped,  finely  hairy.     (Fig.  333.) 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


481 


Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production  by  pulling  or  hoe-cutting  when  in  first 
flower.  In  cultivated  ground  the  weed  is  destroyed  by  the  tillage 
of  the  crop. 

SNEEZEWEED 
Helenium  autumnale,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Sneezewort,  Staggerweed,  Swamp  Sunflower, 
False  Sunflower,  Yellow  Star. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seed. 

Time  of  bloom:   August  to  October. 

Seed-time :   September  to  November. 

Range:  Quebec  to  Manitoba  and  the  Northwest  Territory,  south- 
ward to  Florida,  Texas,  and  Arizona. 

Habitat :  Wet  meadows,  swamps,  and  along  streams  and  ditches. 

The  pollen  from  this  plant,  when  inhaled,  causes  violent  sneezing 
and  the  powdered  flower-heads  are  used  in  medicine  for  that  pur- 
pose. The  weed  is  poisonous,  acrid,  and  pungently  bitter,  the 
flowers  especially  so.  Horses,  cattle, 
and  sheep  are  sometimes  killed  by  it; 
with  milch  cows  a  few  mouthfuls  are 
sufficient  to  taint  the  dairy  products. 
Animals  usually  avoid  the  plant,  but 
it  is  said  that  if  a  little  is  eaten  an  ab- 
normal appetite  is  quickly  formed,  and 
then  a  sufficient  quantity  is  taken  to 
cause  convulsions  and  death. 

Stems  two  to  five  feet  tall,  slender, 
very  pale  green,  angled  and  winged, 
branching  at  the  top.  Leaves  alternate, 
firm,  oblong  to  elliptic,  rather  coarsely 
toothed,  pointed  at  both  ends,  sessile 
and  decurrent  on  the  stems,  forming 
narrow  wings.  Heads  numerous,  often 
nearly  two  inches  broad,  borne  at  the 
ends  of  many  short  branches  at  the 
top  of  the  stem ;  rays  drooping,  wedge-  j^  334  _  sneezeweed 
shaped,  three-toothed  at  the  tip,  bright  (Helenium  autumnale).  x  i. 
2i 


482  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

golden  yellow,  pistillate  and  fertile ;  disks  greenish  yellow,  hemi- 
spherical, the  florets  perfect  and  fertile;  bracts  of  the  invo- 
lucre narrow  and  pointed,  hairy,  reflexed.  Achene  slenderly  top- 
shaped,  ribbed,  and  hairy,  with  a  pappus  of  five  to  eight  chaffy, 
awned  scales ;  these  achenes  are  too  often  an  impurity  of  grass 
seeds  and  are  a  most  obnoxious  contamination.  (Fig.  334.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production.  Where  not  so  abundant  as  to  make  the 
task  impracticable,  it  pays  to  hand-pull  this  noxious  plant  in  order 
to  rid  the  ground  of  its  perennial  roots.  Rankly  infested  grass- 
lands should  be  put  under  cultivation  for  a  season.  Drainage  of 
the  ground  is  discouraging  to  the  growth  of  this  plant,  for  it  prefers 
the  soil  wet. 

PURPLE-HEADED   SNEEZEWEED 

Helenium  nudiflorum,  Nutt. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seed. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range :  Virginia  to  Illinois  and  Missouri,  southward  to  Florida  and 

Texas. 
Habitat :  Moist  soil ;   wet  meadows,  sides  of  streams,  and  ditches. 

The  range  of  this  poisonous  weed  has  been  greatly  widened  by 
the  agencies  of  impure  commercial  seeds  and  baled  hay ;  it  is  now 
locally  abundant  in  New  England  and  Pennsylvania  and  through 
the  Middle  West.  The  plant  hybridizes  with  its  sister  autumnale, 
transmitting  to  the  progeny  its  own  earlier  habit  of  bloom  by  which 
the  weed  is  made  more  obnoxious. 

Stem  one  to  three  feet  tall,  slender,  angled,  and  narrowly  winged 
by  decurrent  leaf  bases,  branching  near  the  top,  the  younger  foliage 
sparsely  hairy.  Leaves  narrow  lance-shaped  to  linear  or  the  lower 
ones  spatulate  and  toothed,  the  upper  ones  entire,  sessile,  and 
decurrent  on  the  stem.  Heads  numerous,  clustered  at  the  ends  of 
the  many  short  branches,  each  about  an  inch  and  a  half  broad ; 
disks  bulging  to  nearly  globular  form,  purplish  brown,  the  florets 
perfect  and  fertile;  rays  pistillate  but  sterile,  drooping,  three- 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


483 


toothed  at  tips,  yellow,  often  shading 
into  brown  at  their  bases,  sometimes 
entirely  brown,  occasionally  lacking, 
hence  the  name  nudiflorum.  Seeds 
oblong,  hairy,  the  pappus  of  five  or 
more  awned  scales.  (Fig.  335.) 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the 
autumn  Sneeze  weed. 


FINE-LEAVED   SNEEZEWEED 

Helenium  tenufdlium,  Nutt. 

Native.    Annual.    Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  Early  August  to  October. 

Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range:  Virginia  to  Kansas,  southward 
to  Florida  and  Texas. 

Habitat :  Prairies  ;  moist  meadows,  road- 
sides, and  waste  places. 

This  plant  is  rapidly  extending  its 
range,  being  locally  established  as  far 
north  as  Massachusetts  and  Ohio ;  it  is 

considered  quite  as  noxious  as  the  larger,  Sneezeweed  (Helenium  nudi- 
perennial  species,  several  cases  having  •^orum-)  x  i- 
been  reported  from  the  Gulf  States  where  it  has  proved  fatal  to 
grazing  horses  and  mules.  Neat  cattle  do  not  seem  to  be  so 
dangerously  affected,  but  the  weed  is  often  the  cause  of  bitter  milk. 
The  bitter,  acrid  properties  are  not  dissipated  by  drying  and 
therefore  the  young  plants  are  very  objectionable  in  meadows, 
being  harvested  with  the  hay  and  sharply  "  cutting"  its  quality. 

Stem  eight  to  twenty  inches  tall,  slender,  smooth,  much  branched 
above,  forming  a  bushy  head.  Leaves  very  numerous,  smooth, 
linear,  almost  thread-like,  sessile,  often  fascicled.  Heads  many, 
about  an  inch  broad,  with  six  to  ten  short,  drooping,  yellow  rays, 
fanshaped,  toothed  at  the  tips,  pistillate  and  fertile ;  disk  yellow, 
globose,  the  florets  perfect  and  fertile ;  bracts  of  the  involucre 
linear,  soon  reflexed.  Achenes  angled  and  hairy,  with  a  pappus 
of  short,  bristle-tipped  scales. 


FIG.  335.  —  Purple-headed 


484 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production  by  close  cutting  or  hand-pulling  when 
the  plant  is  in  first  bloom. 


BLANKET  FLOWER 
Gailldrdia  aristata,  Pursh. 

Other  English  name:    Great-flowered  Gaillardia. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   May  to  September. 

Seed-time:  June  to  October. 

Range:    Minnesota  to  British  Columbia,  southward  to  Colorado, 

New  Mexico,  and  Texas. 
Habitat :  Plains  and  prairies  ;  mead- 
ows and  pastures. 

This  plant  is  cultivated  in  eastern 
flower  gardens  for  its  beauty,  and 
frequently  escapes  to  roadsides  and 
fields  where  it  rivals  Black-eyed 
Susan  for  showiness.  Stems  one  to 
three  feet  tall,  sometimes  branched 
but  usually  simple,  very  slender, 
clothed  with  jointed  hairs.  Leaves 
rather  thick,  also  finely  hairy,  the 
basal  ones  with  petioles ;  they  are 
exceedingly  variable,  some  being 
lance-shaped,  others  spatulate ; 
some  deeply  cut,  even  pinnatifid, 
others  entire;  some  plants  have 
leaves  all  basal,  while  others  have  a 
few  stem  leaves  which  are  sessile. 
Heads  large,  two  to  four  inches 
across,  the  rounded  disk  of  a  pur- 
plish brown,  the  tubular  florets  with 
fringed  lobes  and  protruding  forked 
styles,  also  reddish  brown,  very  long 

FIG.  336.  —  Blanket  Flower  (Gail-   and  fine ;  rays  yellow,  long,  wedge- 
shaped,  toothed  at  the  tips ;   bracts 


lardia  aristata).     X  J. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  485 

of  the  involucre  lance-shaped,  pointed,  hairy  on  both  sides,  reflexed. 
Achenes  small,  brown,  top-shaped  nutlets,  hairy  at  the  base  and 
crowned  with  a  half-dozen  or  more  bristly  awns.  (Fig.  336.) 

Means  of  control 

No  composite  flower,  however  beautiful,  should  be  permitted 
to  give  its  seeds  to  the  wind's  will.  In  gardens  the  blossoms  should 
be  clipped  as  they  fade,  and  where  the  plants  "blanket"  the  fields 
they  should  feel  the  scythe  or  the  mowing-machine  blades  at  sight 
of  the  first  gay  flower.  For  destruction  of  the  perennial  roots 
the  ground  requires  to  be  put  under  cultivation. 

FETID   MARIGOLD 

Dyssbdia  papposa,  Hitchc. 
(Boebera  papposa,  Rydb.) 

Other  English  names:  Yellow  Mayweed,  False 
Mayweed,  Yellow  Dog-fennel,  Stinkweed. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagated  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  October. 

Seed-lime:   August  to  November. 

Range:  Ontario  and  Ohio  to  Minnesota  and  Ne- 
braska, southward  to  Texas,  New  Mexico,  and 
Arizona. 

Habitat :   Fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

A  vile  weed,  which  is  gaining  ground  in  the 
Eastern  States,  being  established  in  several  places 
where  it  was  brought  in  western  hay,  of  which 
the  refuse  was  spread  on  the  fields. 

Stem  six  to  eighteen  inches  tall,  erect,  smooth, 
dotted  with  pellucid  glands,  much  branched,  and 
very  leafy.  Leaves  but  an  inch  or  two  long, 
opposite,  sessile,  pinnately  divided  into  narrow, 
spatulate,  toothed  segments,  and  also  dotted 
with  glands  which  exhale  an  offensive,  fetid 
odor.  Heads  numerous,  terminal,  on  short  pe- 
duncles, dull  yellow,  but  little  more  than  a  ., 

.      ,        ,  ,.  ,       a  .     .  ,     Fetid     Mangold 

quarter-inch  broad ;  disk  florets  perfect  and  (Dyssodia  pap- 
fertile;  rays  few  and  short,  pistillate;  involucre  posd).  x\. 


486 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


formed  of  one  row  of  oblong,  purplish  bracts,  united  into 
a  cup,  with  a  few  short,  loose,  and  spreading  ones  at  the  base. 
Achenes  dark,  wedge-shaped,  covered  with  fine,  upward-pointing 
bristles ;  the  pappus  is  a  ring  of  stiff,  bristly  hairs.  (Fig.  337.) 

Means  of  control 

Small  areas  newly  infested  should  be  pulled  while  in  earliest 
flower,  allowing  no  seed  to  develop.  Ground  on  which  plants  have 
matured  should  be  burned  over,  in  order  to  destroy  the  seed  on  the 
surface. 

YARROW 

Achillea  Millefblium,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Milfoil,  Thousand-leaf,  Sanguinary,  Blood- 
wort,  Soldier's  Woundwort,  Nosebleed  Weed. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 
Time  of  bloom :  June  to  October. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range:    Throughout  North  America,  and  in 

most  parts  of  the  world. 

Habitat:    Meadows,  pastures,  roadsides,  and 
waste  places. 

A  most  hardy  weed,  thriving  in  nearly  any 
kind  of  soil  and  indifferent  to  tropic  heat  or 
arctic  cold;  well  named  for  the  invulnerable 
Achilles,  who  is  said  to  have  used  the  herb  for 
the  cure  of  his  Myrmidons  wounded  at  the 
siege  of  Troy.  However  that  may  be,  the 
plant  is  still  valued  medicinally  and  its  dried 
leaves  and  flowers  bring  three  to  five  cents  a 
pound  in  the  drug  market. 

Stem  one  to  two  feet  tall,  stiffly  erect,  simple 
or  sometimes  forked  above,  webby-haired  or 
nearly  smooth.  Leaves  alternate,  the  lower 
ones  sometimes  ten  inches  long,  lance-shaped 
in  outline,  deep  green,  twice  pinnatifid  and 

the    segments    finelv    toothed;    stem    leaves 
FIG.  338.  —  Yarrow    .          ..  °  .  *  '  .  .. 

(Achillea Millefolium).  less  divided,  narrow  and  sessile;  the  foliage  is 
xj.  strong-scented,  its  taste  biting  and  bitter. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


487 


Cattle  usually  avoid  the  plant  when  green,  but  sometimes  eat  it 
with  dry  fodder,  and  then  it  is  very  damaging  to  the  quality 
of  dairy  products.  Flowers  in  dense,  flat-topped,  stiffly  branched, 
compound  corymbs,  the  heads  very  small,  white  or  sometimes 
pink ;  rays  and  disk-florets  both  fertile ;  bracts  of  the  invo- 
lucre, imbricated,  with  scarious  margins.  Achenes  flattened 
oblong,  without  pappus.  (Fig.  338.) 

Means  of  control 

The  rootstocks  are  horizontal  and  tough,  and  cling  rather 
strongly  to  the  parent  plant,  so  that  sometimes  when  the  ground 
is  soft  one  may  oust  a  whole  colony  at  a  pull  —  the  young  shoots 
of  the  first  year  being  mere  tufts  of  plume-like  leaves.  Prevent 
seed  production  by  close  cutting  before  the 
first  flowers  mature.  In  cultivated  crops  the 
weed  is  suppressed  by  the  required  tillage. 

SNEEZEWORT  YARROW 
Achilla  Ptdrmica,  L. 

Other  English  names :  White  Sneezeweed,  White 

Tansy,  Wild  Pellitory. 
Introduced.     Perennial.    Propagates  by  seeds 

and  by  rootstocks. 
Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 
Seed-time:   August  to  October. 
Range:     Newfoundland  and  New  Brunswick 

to  Michigan,  southward  to  Massachusetts. 
Habitat :  Moist  soil ;  low  meadows,  and  waste 

places. 

The  range  of  this  weed  has  increased  of 
recent  years,  chiefly  by  the  agency  of  baled 
hay.  Stem  slender,  one  to  two  feet  tall, 
rather  rigid,  smooth  or  only  slightly  hairy, 
sometimes  branched  at  the  top  but  usually 
simple.  Leaves  alternate,  one  to  three  inches 
long,  narrow  lance-shaped  to  linear,  pointed, 
sharply  and  very  finely  toothed,  sessile  and 
partly  clasping,  often  hairy  on  the  veins  Ptarmica).  x  J. 


488 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


beneath.  Flowers  in  loose  corymbose  clusters,  the  heads  on 
long,  slender  pedicels,  about  a  half-inch  broad,  with  six  to  fifteen 
white  rays,  notched  at  the  tips ;  rays  and  disk-florets  both  fertile. 
Achenes  compressed  oblong,  without  pappus. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  common  Yarrow.     (Fig.  339.) 


MAYWEED 
Anthemis  Cotula,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Dog  Fennel,  Dog  Finkle,  Dillweed,  Fetid 

Chamomile,  Stinking  Daisy,  White  Stinkweed. 
Introduced.     Annual  and  winter  annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   June  to  October. 
Seed-time:  July  to  November. 
Range :  All  over  North  America  except  the  extreme  North.     Native 

of  Europe,  but  widely  distributed  in  Asia,  Africa,  and  Australia. 
Habitat :   Nearly  all  soils ;   invades  almost  all  crops. 

In  fields  and  along  roadsides,  and  particularly  in  barnyards, 
where  the  soil  is  enriched  with  the  constant  droppings  of  cattle, 
this  vile  weed  thrives ;  for  no  grazing  animal  will  eat  it  because  of 
its  rank  odor  and  acrid  juices.  The  modern  farmer  rides  his  "self 
binder"  through  the  grain  fields  and  doesn't 
curse  the  Mayweeds  as  did  the  men  who  had  to 
"cradle  the  wheat"  and  bind  it  with  hand- 
twisted  straw  withes,  and  whose  hands,  arms, 
and  feet  became  as  though  scalded  from  repeated 
contact  with  the  acrid,  glandular  foliage  of  this 
weed  and  from  its  seedy  tops  sifting  into  their 
shoes  as  they  swung  the  cradle  or  the  scythe. 
"  The  Mayweed  doth  burn  and  the  Thistle  doth 
fret,"  wrote  Thomas  Tusser,  sympathizing  with 
his  harvesters,  nearly  four  hundred  years  ago; 
and  there  are  localities  in  this  country  where  the 
words  are  yet  applicable. 

Stem  six  to  twenty  inches  in  height,  smooth 
below  but  glandular  and  somewhat  hairy  above, 
much  branched,  and  spreading.  Leaves  alternate, 
sessile,  pinnate,  twice  or  thrice  divided  into 
linear,  acute  segments.  Heads  numerous,  soli- 


FIG.  340.— 
Mayweed  (Anthe- 
mis Cotula).  X  \. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  489 

tary,  terminal,  about  an  inch  broad ;  rays  fifteen  to  twenty, 
neutral,  white,  three-toothed,  spreading,  becoming  reflexed  as 
they  wither;  disks  yellow,  hemispheric,  growing  cone-like  with 
age,  the  florets  tubular  and  perfect ;  bracts  of  the  involucre  oblong, 
scarious  margined,  obtuse,  usually  somewhat  hairy.  Achenes 
oblong,  ten-ribbed,  roughened  with  glandular  tubercles,  and 
without  pappus ;  they  are  nearly  always  found  as  an  impurity 
in  seeds  of  grass  and  clover.  (Fig.  340.) 

Means  of  control 

The  plant  is  an  annual,  and,  if  it  were  persistently  destroyed 
before  any  seed  had  dropped  into  the  soil  to  vex  another  year's 
crop,  it  must  needs  disappear.  It  would  pay  even  to  hand-pull  it, 
but  prompt  cutting  would  be  sufficient.  In  grain  fields  the  crop 
may  be  relieved  of  much  of  the  crowding  growth  of  the  weed  by 
harrowing  out  the  seedlings  in  the  spring. 


FIELD   OR   CORN   CHAMOMILE 

Anthemis  arvensis,  L. 

Introduced.     Annual  or  biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   May  to  August. 

Seed-time:   June  to  September. 

Range:    Nova  Scotia  to  Virginia,  and  westward  to  Michigan  and 

Missouri ;   also  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 
Habitat:   Cultivated  fields,  meadows,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

Somewhat  like  the  Mayweed,  but  without  its  unpleasant  odor 
and  acrid  juices.  It  is  low,  seldom  exceeding  a  foot  in  height, 
some  of  its  many  branches  decumbent,  others  ascending,  very 
leafy,  and  finely  hairy.  Leaves  sessile,  one  to  three  inches  long, 
pinnate,  once  or  twice  divided,  much  less  feathery  than  the  May- 
weed. Heads  numerous,  usually  exceeding  an  inch  in  width,  with 
ten  to  twenty  white,  spreading,  two-toothed  rays,  pistillate  and 
fertile;  disk-florets  perfect;  bracts  of  the  involucre  are  oblong, 
obtuse,  hairy,  with  scarious  margins.  Achenes  oblong,  obscurely 
four-angled,  crowned  only  with  a  minute  border  for  a  pappus.  In 
some  localities  this  is  a  worse  weed  than  its  ill-scented  relative, 


490 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY} 


and  its  achenes  are   a   common  impurity  in  those  of  grass  and 
clover. 

The  same  measures  should  be  used  for  its  control  as  for  Mayweed. 


YELLOW   CHAMOMILE 
Anthemis  tinctoria,  L. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  September. 

Seed-time:  July  to  October. 

Range :  Atlantic  States  from  Maine  to  Maryland ;   locally  in  some 

interior  states. 
Habitat:   Fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 


An  escape  from  gardens,  where  it  was 
formerly  cultivated  for  its  beauty  and  for 
its  medicinal  qualities,  being  used  as  a 
bitter  tonic.  It  is  a  persistent  weed  wher- 
ever established,  as  grazing  animals  will 
not  touch  it  and  it  is  left  to  propagate 
itself. 

Stem  one  to  three  feet  in  height,  erect, 
slender,  finely  hairy,  with  a  few  branches 
held  nearly  upright.  Leaves  also  finely 
hairy,  alternate,  one  to  four  inches  long, 
pinnate,  the  oblong  segments  narrow, 
pointed,  and  sharply  toothed.  Heads 
terminal,  rather  few,  more  than  an  inch 
broad,  on  long,  slender  peduncles.  Both 
disk-florets  and  rays  are  yellow,  the  latter 
numbering  twenty  to  thirty,  usually  two- 
toothed,  pistillate,  and  fertile;  disk-florets 
perfect  and  of  a  darker  yellow;  bracts  of 
the  involucre  oblong,  obtuse,  densely  hairy 
with  scarious  margins.  Achenes  four- 
angled  and  somewhat  flattened,  crowned 
with  a  narrow  border.  They  are  becoming 
much  too  common  as  an  impurity  of  grass 
and  clover  seeds.  (Fig.  341.) 


FIG.  341.  — Yellow 
Chamomile  (Anthemis 
tinctoria).  X  J. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


491 


Means  of  control 

Frequent  cutting  close  to  the  ground,  throughout  the  growing 
season,  will  prevent  seeding  and  will  starve  the  perennial  roots. 
New  infestations,  if  areas  are  not  too  large,  should  be  promptly 
hand-pulled  as  soon  as  observed. 


SCENTLESS   CHAMOMILE 
Matricaria  inoddra,  L. 

Other  English  name:   Corn  Mayweed. 

introduced.     Annual  or  winter  annual.     Propagates  by 

Time  of  bloom :   June  to  August. 

Seed-time:  July  to  September. 

Range:  Newfoundland  to  New  Jersey, 
westward  as  far  as  Michigan. 

Habitat:  Cultivated  fields,  meadows,  road- 
sides, and  waste  places. 


Not  so  disagreeable  a  plant  as  the  ill- 
scented  Dog  Fennel,  but  a  gross  feeder  and 
holding  ground  which  should  be  occupied 
by  better  plants.  Stem  one  to  two  feet  in 
height,  smooth  or  nearly  so,  very  much 
branched.  Leaves  alternate,  numerous, 
deep  green,  sessile,  twice  or  thrice  pinnately 
dissected  into  linear,  almost  thread-like, 
lobes,  the  rachis  somewhat  dilated  at  base. 
Heads  terminal  on  the  many  branchlets, 
about  an  inch  broad,  on  naked  peduncles ; 
rays  twenty  to  thirty,  white,  spreading, 
pistillate,  and  fertile ;  disk-florets  yellow, 
tubular,  perfect,  and  fertile,  their  corollas 
five-toothed  ;  bracts  of  the  involucre  green, 
with  brown,  scarious  margins,  obtuse,  and 
spreading.  Achenes  strongly  three-ribbed, 
tipped  with  a  short,  entire-edged  or  four- 
toothed  crown. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  May- 
weed. (Fig.  342.) 


FIQ.  342.  —  Scentless 
Chamomile  (Matricaria 
inodora) .  X  j.  ' 


492  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

WILD   CHAMOMILE 
Matricaria  Chamomllla,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Horse  Gowan,  German  Chamomile. 

Introduced.     Annual  or  winter  annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   June  to  August. 

Seed-time:   July  to  September. 

Range:   Atlantic  States,  westward  to  Ohio. 

Habitat:   Fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

Very  like  the  preceding  species,  but  with  rather  pleasantly 
aromatic  foliage.  Stem  smooth,  much  branched,  one  to  two  feet 
high.  Leaves  pinnate,  twice  or  thrice  divided  into  many  linear 
lobes.  Heads  numerous,  terminal,  about  three-fourths  of  an  inch 
broad,  on  very  slender,  naked  peduncles ;  rays  ten  to  twenty, 
white,  drooping  as  they  mature,  pistillate,  fertile ;  disk-florets 
perfect  and  fertile,  yellow,  the  receptacle  at  first  rather  flat  but 
becoming  conic  and  hollow ;  bracts  of  the  involucre  oblong,  obtuse, 
green,  with  brown,  scarious  margins.  Achenes  short,  three-ribbed, 
and  without  pappus. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Mayweed. 

PINEAPPLE  WEED 

Matricaria  suaveolens,  Buchenau. 
(Matricaria  matricarioldes,  Porter.) 

Other  English  name:   Rayless  Chamomile. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   May  to  August. 

Seed-time:   June  to  September. 

Range:  Atlantic  States  from  New  Brunswick  to  Pennsylvania, 
naturalized  from  the  Pacific  Slope  where  it  is  native,  and  com- 
mon as  far  east  as  Wyoming  and  Montana. 

Habitat:   Fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

This  plant  not  only  has  found  its  way  East,  but  has  gone  abroad 
and  is  naturalized  as  a  weed  in  northern  Europe.  Stem  rather 
stout,  six  to  eighteen  inches  tall,  smooth,  branching,  and  very 
leafy.  Leaves  pinnate,  twice  or  thrice  dissected  into  short,  very 
narrow,  and  sharply  pointed  lobes :  when  bruised  they  have  an 
odor  suggestive  of  pineapples.  Heads  very  numerous  on  short 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  493 

peduncles,  without  rays,  the  disk  bluntly  ovoid,  greenish  yellow ; 
bracts  of  the  involucre  broadly  oval,  not  quite  half  the  length  of 
the  disk,  green,  with  white,  scarious  margins.  Achenes  rounded 
oblong,  faintly  ribbed,  often  without  a  pappus  but  sometimes 
having  an  obscure  marginal  crown,  bearing  one  or  two  small, 
oblique  auricles. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Mayweed. 

WHITE   OR   OX-EYE  DAISY 

Chrysanthemum  Leucdnthemum,  L. 
Var.  pinnatifidum,  Lecoq.  &  Lamotte. 

Other   English   names:    Whiteweed,    Midsummer   Daisy,    Poverty 

Weed,  Poorland  Flower,  Moon-penny. 
Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  May  to  October. 
Seed-time:   June  to  November. 
Range:   Nearly  throughout  North  America.     Less  common  in  the 

South  and  the  West. 
Habitat :   Old  fields,  meadows,  pastures,  and  waste  places. 

The  seeds  of  this  plant  are  an  impurity  of  nearly  all  grass  seeds 
and  are  distributed  with  them;  fruiting  plants  are  mown  with 
the  hay,  baled  with  it,  and  shipped  about  the  country,  pass  un- 
harmed through  the  digestive  tracts  of  the  farm  animals  and  are 
returned  to  the  land  in  uncomposted  stable  refuse,  carefully  spread 
—  no  wonder  it  is  such  a  pervasive  weed. 

Stems  often  tufted,  one  to  three  feet  high,  erect,  slender,  finely 
grooved,  nearly  smooth,  sometimes  forking  near  the  top  but  usually 
simple,  springing  from  a  short,  thick  rootstock  fringed  with  fibrous 
rootlets.  Root -leaves  in  a  tufted  mat  about  the  base  of  the  stem, 
spatulate  in  outline,  pinnatifid  and  irregularly  toothed,  tapering 
to  petioles ;  stem-leaves  narrowly  oblong,  sessile  and  clasping, 
also  cut  and  toothed.  Heads  single  at  the  summit  of  the  stalk, 
about  two  inches  broad,  bearing  twenty  to  thirty  spreading,  white 
rays,  slightly  notched  at  their  tips ;  disk  yellow  and  about  a  half- 
inch  broad ;  rays  and  disk-florets  both  fertile ;  involucre  very 
shallow  and  flat,  its  bracts  with  scarious  margins  and  closely  im- 
bricated. Achenes  grayish  black,  finely  ribbed,  without  pappus. 


494 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


FIG.  343. —  White  or 
Ox-eye  Daisy  (Chrysan- 
themum Leucanthemum 
var.  pinnatifidum) .  X  J. 


These  will  ripen  sufficiently  to  germinate 
in  ten  days  after  the  opening  of  the  flowers. 
(Fig.  343.)' 

Means  of  control 

Sow  clean  seed.  Cleanse  the  Daisy-cursed 
meadow  with  a  short  rotation  of  other 
crops.  Though  perennial,  the  roots  are 
shallow  and  are  turned  out  and  killed  by  the 
plow.  Mow  infested  meadows  as  soon  as 
the  first  flowers  appear,  in  order  that  the 
seeds  may  not  have  time  to  ripen.  Fre- 
quently cut  and  salt  the  plants  of  the 
pasture,  which  will  induce  the  stock  to 
feed  on  the  leaf-tufts  and  aid  in  their  de- 
struction. Roadside  and  waste-land  plants 
should  be  cut  before  seed  development,  or 
should  even  be  hoed  out,  for  the  benefit  of 
adjacent  ground. 


COSTMARY 

Chrysdnthemum  Balsdmita,  L. 
Var.  tanacetoides,  Boiss. 


Other  English  names :  Alecost,  Balsam  Herb, 

Mint  Geranium. 
Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   June  to  September. 
Seed-time:   July  to  October. 
Range :   Nova  Scotia  and  New  England,  westward  to  Ontario  and 

Ohio. 
Habitat:   Roadsides,  farmyards,  waste  places. 


An  escape  from  gardens ;  in  some  localities  it  is  mistakenly 
called  Lavender,  but  that  is  a  very  different  plant.  The  fragrant 
leaves  were  formerly  used  for  flavoring  home-brewed  ale  or  beer, 
but  in  these  days  they  are  occasionally  eaten  by  milch  cows  and 
spoil  the  flavor  of  milk  and  butter. 

Stems  one  to  three  feet  tall,  much  branched,  finely  hairy.     Leaves 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


495 


alternate,  oblong,  obtuse,  scallop-toothed,  one  or  two  inches  in 
length,  many  with  a  pair  of  small  lateral  lobes  near  the  base  but 
others  without,  those  of  the  stem  sessile  except  the  lowermost. 
Heads  numerous  in  open  corymbose  clusters,  some  with  rays  but 
oftener  without ;  rays,  when  present,  are  white,  short,  and  spread- 
ing ;  all  the  florets  are  fertile ;  bracts  of  the  involucre  narrow, 
obtuse,  somewhat  hairy.  Achenes  slightly  angled  with  a  short 
cup-like  crown  for  pappus. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Tansy. 


TANSY 
Tanacktum  vulgare,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Bitter  Buttons,  Ginger  Plant,  Parsley  Fern. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:    Nova   Scotia  and   Ontario  to  Minnesota,   southward  to 

Georgia  and  Missouri. 
Habitat:   Roadsides,  farmyards,  and  waste  places. 


An  escape  from  garden  cultivation.  The  oil 
distilled  from  the  plant,  mixed  with  that  of 
Fleabane  and  Pennyroyal  and  diluted  with 
alcohol,  make  a  "mosquito  dope"  useful  to 
hunters  and  fishermen  and  others  who  must 
work  where  mosquitoes  are  troublesome.  Col- 
lectors receive  three  to  five  cents  a  pound  for 
the  dried  leaves  and  tops,  gathered  when  in 
full  bloom.  (Fig.  344.) 

Stem  one  to  three  feet  high,  rather  stout, 
smooth,  usually  unbranched,  except  at  the 
flowering  top.  Leaves  alternate,  the  lower 
ones  sometimes  a  foot  long,  deep  green,  smooth, 
pinnatifid,  the  segments  narrow,  acute,  and 
toothed,  the  petioles  often  with  toothed  mar- 
gins ;  upper  leaves  smaller  and  less  divided. 
Heads  numerous  in  terminal  corymbose  clus- 
ters, less  than  a  half-inch  broad,  yellow,  the 


FIG.  344.  —  Tansy 
(Tanacetum  vulgare). 
Xi. 


496  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

florets  usually  all  tubular  or  sometimes  with  an  outer  row  of 
imperfectly  developed  rays  ;  these  are  pistillate,  the  central  florets 
perfect,  all  fertile.  Achenes  angled  or  ribbed,  with  a  five-toothed 
crown  for  pappus. 

Means  of  control 

Small  areas  may  be  grubbed  out,  or  killed  with  Caustic  soda  or 
hot  brine.  Or  the  roots  may  be  starved  by  successive  close  cut- 
ting throughout  the  growing  season. 

COMMON   MUGWORT 
Artemisia  vulgaris,  L. 

Other    English    names:     Felon-herb,    Sailor's 

Tobacco. 

Introduced.    Perennial.    Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   July  to  October. 
Seed-time:   August  to  November. 
Range :  Nova  Scotia  to  Ontario  and  Michigan, 

southward  to  New  Jersey  and  Tennessee. 
Habitat:   Roadsides  and  waste  places;    along 

streams  and  ditches. 

Also  called  Wormwood,  and  kept  on  sale 
under  that  name  in  drug  stores.  Stem  one 
to  three  feet  tall,  smooth  or  nearly  so  except 
the  growing  branches,  which  are  finely  wrhite- 
woolly.  Leaves  alternate,  one  to  four  inches 
long,  deeply  pinnatifid  into  narrow  oblong  or 
spatulate  segments,  which  are  again  cut  and 
toothed,  the  lower  ones  usually  petioled,  the 
upper  ones  sessile,  often  with  lobes  entire; 
all  are  smooth  and  dark  green  above  but 
covered  with  fine,  white  wool  beneath.  The 
numerous  heads  are  in  spiked  panicles,  held 
nearly  erect;  each  head  is  about  one-sixth 
of  an  inch  broad  and  only  the  central  florets 

are  fertile ;   bracts  of  the  involucre  dry  and 
FIG.    345.  —  Com-  .  .  ,       .  , 

mon  Mugwort  (Arte-  scanous.  Achenes  very  small,  obovoid,  with- 
misia  vulgaris).  X  i.  out  pappus.  (Fig.  345.) 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  497 

Means  of  control 

Mugwort  has  to  be  grubbed  out ;  or,  if  the  ground  is  sufficiently 
soft  to  relax  its  hold  on  the  perennial  roots,  the  plants  may  be 
hand-pulled.  On  cultivated  ground  the  weed  is  destroyed  by  the 
required  tillage. 

BIENNIAL  WORMWOOD 

Artemisia  biennis,  L. 

Other  English  names:   False  Tansy,  Bitterweed. 

Native  and  introduced.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seed. 

Time  of  bloom :  August  to  October. 

Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range:    Nova  Scotia  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  southward  to 

Pennsylvania,  Tennessee,  and  Missouri. 
Habitat:   Stubble  fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

Probably  the  most  common  of  the  Wormwoods ;  frequently  a 
tenant  of  vacant  city  lots.  Stem  one  to  four  feet  tall,  erect  and 
strict,  the  branches  rather  short  and  held  nearly  upright.  Leaves 
smooth  on  both  sides,  dark  green,  twice  pinnatifid,  with  oblong  to 
linear,  toothed,  and  pointed  segments,  the  lower  with  petioles,  the 
upper  sessile  and  with  fewer  lobes  or  occasionally  quite  entire ; 
they  are  without  odor  unless  bruised.  Heads  in  short,  crowded, 
axillary  clusters,  erect,  sessile,  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  broad, 
the  involucral  bracts  green  with  scarious  margins,  the  central 
flowers  only  producing  seed. 

Means  of  control 

Hoe-cutting  or  hand-pulling  of  autumn  plants ;  close  cutting  of 
flowering  stalks  before  seed  development.  Infested  stubbles  should 
be  given  surface  cultivation  or  be  mowed  before  the  heads  mature. 

ANNUAL  WORMWOOD 
Artemisia  dnnua,  L. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 
Seed-time:   August  to  October. 
Range :   Ontario  to  Tennessee  and  Kansas. 
Habitat:  Fields,  roadsides,  waste  places. 

2K 


498 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


FIG.  346.  —  Annual 
Wormwood  (Artemisia 
annua).  X  \. 


Nearly  as  rapid  a  grower  as  a  ragweed, 
the  stem  two  to  five  feet  tall,  smooth,  much 
branched,  and  leafy.  Leaves  alternate, 
two  to  six  inches  long,  smooth  and  green  on 
both  sides,  very  sweet-scented,  twice  or  thrice 
pinnatifid,  the  lobes  short,  obtuse,  and 
narrow;  lower  leaves  with  short,  slender 
petioles,  upper  ones  sessile  and  much  smaller, 
but  none  entire.  Heads  very  small  in  loose, 
open  panicles,  the  florets  all  fertile ;  invo- 
lucre hemispheric,  the  bracts  few,  smooth, 
dry  and  scarious.  (Fig.  346.) 

Means  of  control 

For  small  areas  hand-pulling  before  the 
flowers  mature.  Or  close  and  repeated 
cutting  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  re- 
production. 

WORMWOOD   OR  ABSINTHE 
Artemisia  Absinthium,  L. 

Biennial.       Propagates    by 


Introduced. 

seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  October. 
Seed-time:   August  to  November. 
Range:   Newfoundland  and  New  England  to  western  Ontario  and 

Ohio. 
Habitat:    Roadsides  and  waste  places. 

An  escape  from  gardens,  and  usually  a  waste-land  weed;  but 
occasionally  it  gets  into  hay,  causing  cattle  to  reject  their  fodder 
—  or,  if  eaten,  the  consequence  is  ruined  milk  and  butter,  for  the 
extreme  bitterness  of  the  plant  is  proverbial.  The  herb  is  used 
medicinally  as  a  vermifuge,  and  collectors  receive  about  four  cents 
a  pound  for  its  leaves  and  flowering  tops,  gathered  when  in  early 
bloom  and  dried. 

Stem  somewhat  shrubby,  two  to  four  feet  high,  the  new  leaves 
white  with  fine,  silky  hair,  the  older  foliage  grayish  green,  soft, 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  499 

and  thin;  the  leaves  are  thrice  pinnatifid,  the  segments  finely 
divided  and  again  cut  and  lobed ;  lower  ones  with  slender  petioles, 
but  upper  ones  sessile  or  nearly  so.  Flowers  in  loose  compound 
racemes,  often  more  than  a  foot  in  length,  the  branchlets  exceed- 
ingly slender  and  closely  strung  with  nearly  globular,  nodding 
heads  less  than  a  sixth  of  an  inch  in  diameter.  These  small, 
dried  heads  are  called  "seed,"  though  of  course  they  contain  a 
number  of  very  small  achenes. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production  by  frequent  close  cutting  during  the 
growing  season ;  if  this  is  done,  unless  the  ground  is  foul  with 
dormant  seed,  the  weed  will  disappear. 


PASTURE  SAGE 

Artemisia  frigida,  Willd. 

Other  English  names:   Low  Sage-bush,  Wormwood  Sage,  Wild  Sage. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  October. 

Seed-time:   September  to  December. 

Range:   Minnesota  to  the  Saskatchewan  and  Idaho,  southward  to 

Texas  and  New  Mexico. 
Habitat:   Grasslands. 

Closely  grazed  pastures  are  sometimes  badly  overgrown  with 
this  weed,  for  cattle  will  not  eat  the  bitter  foliage  and  the  plant  is 
left  to  reproduce  itself. 

Stems  tufted,  ten  to  twenty  inches  tall,  smooth,  woody  at  the 
base,  the  younger  parts  silky  white  with  soft  hair.  Leaves  also 
densely  silken-hairy,  grayish  green,  a  half-inch  to  nearly  two 
inches  long,  three-  to  five-parted,  the  segments  very  narrowly 
linear ;  lower  leaves  have  slim  petioles,  often  with  a  pair  of  entire 
or  three-cleft  divisions  near  the  base ;  upper  ones  have  fewer  seg- 
ments and  are  sessile.  Heads  very  numerous  in  narrow  terminal 
panicles ;  nearly  hemispheric,  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  broad, 
nodding  on  short  pedicels  ;  involucral  scales  rounded  oblong,  silky- 
hairy.  Only  the  central  florets  of  the  heads  are  fertile. 


500  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

Means  of  control 

Only  by  breaking  up  the  sod,  and  putting  the  ground  under 
thorough  cultivation  for  a  year  or  two,  can  it  be  cleansed  of  the 
perennial  roots  and  the  dormant  seeds  of  this  obnoxious  weed. 
Waste-land  plants,  the  wind-blown  seeds  of  which  may  infest  the 
country  side,  should  receive  the  attention  of  the  whole  community. 

COMMON   SAGE-BUSH 

Artemisia  tridentata,  Nutt. 

Other  English  names :  Sage-wood,  Sage-brush,  Mountain 

Sage. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 
Seed-time:   August  to  November. 
Range:    Nebraska  to  Colorado,  Utah,  and  California, 

northward  to  Montana  and  British  Columbia. 
Habitat:   Dry  plains  and  foothills. 

Drought  does  not  seem  to  affect  this  plant,  and 
when  settled  among  less  sturdy  growths  it  robs  them  of 
most  of  the  food  and  moisture  available. 

Stems  shrubby  and  branching,  one  to  ten  feet  tall, 
covered  with  silvery  gray  hair.  Leaves  a  half-inch  to 
but  little  more  than  an  inch  long,  narrow,  wedge- 
shaped,  sessile,  with  three  to  five  blunt  teeth  at  the 
tip,  which  is  the  broadest  part.  Flowers  sessile  on 
crowded  spikes  in  .the  axils  and  at  the  ends  of  the 
branches,  the  terminal  spikes  often  dividing  into  large 
panicles.  Heads  only  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  in 
diameter,  the  florets  all  perfect  and  fertile.  When  ripe 
the  heads  fall  entire  from  the  spikes  and  are  blown 
far  and  wide,  particularly  in  winter  over  crusted  snows, 
infesting  many  a  home  pasture  and  meadow  with  their 
perennial  roots  and  uneatable,  bitter  foliage,  necessitat- 
347  G_  *nS  ^e  breaking-up  and  cultivation  of  the  ground  in 
Common  order  to  rid  it  of  their  presence.  It  should  interest  an 
Sage-bush  entire  community  to  see  that  waste-land  plants  are 
t  tientatcti  destroyed  or  at  least  prevented  from  developing  seed, 
xi.  '  (Fig.  347.) 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


501 


COLTSFOOT 

Tussilago  Fdrfara,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Coughwort,  Ginger  Root,  Clay  weed,  Dove- 
dock,  Horsehoof,  Foalfoot. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom :   Early  April  to  June. 

Seed-time:    May  to  July. 

Range:  Nova  Scotia  to  Minnesota,  southward  to  Pennsylvania 'and 
Ohio. 

Habitat :  Moist  clay  soil ;  thin  pastures,  alluvial  banks,  along 
brooks  and  roadsides. 


Scapes  slender,  springing  from  thick  succulent  rootstocks  and 
appearing  before  the  leaves,  at  first  but  a  few  inches  high,  bearing 
reddish  scales  that  are  slightly  white- 
woolly,  and  holding  erect  a  single  flower- 
head  about  an  inch  broad,  golden  yellow ; 
the  flowers  have  the  odor  of  honey  and 
the  pollen  furnishes  bees  with  early  prov- 
ender. Ray-florets  in  several  rows, 
pistillate  and  fertile;  disk-florets  perfect 
but  sterile,  the  corolla  tubular  and  five- 
cleft  ;  after  a  head  has  been  fertilized  the 
stalk  rapidly  elongates  to  a  foot  or  more 
in  height,  and  the  head  is  so  bowed  that 
it  is  protected  from  rain  by  the  bell- 
shaped  involucre  until  the  achenes  have 
formed,  when  it  is  again  erected  and 
opens  out  a  ball  of  downy  pappus,  whiter 
and  more  floss-like  than  that  of  the  dan- 
delion. Near  the  end  of  the  flowering 
season  the  leaves  appear,  rising  from  the 
rootstocks,  nearly  round,  heart-shaped  at 
base,  slightly  lobed  and  toothed,  thick, 
smooth,  and  dark  green  above  but  white- 
woolly  underneath,  with  petioles  about  as  long  as  the  blades ; 
they  continue  to  grow  all  summer,  becoming  often  six  or  eight 
inches  broad.  (Fig.  348.) 


FIG.    348.  —  Coltsfoot 
(Tussilago   Far  far  a).    X  i. 


502  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production  by  cutting  the  scapes  while  in  bloom. 
The  weed  grows  only  on  clay  soil  and  likes  it  moist ;  drainage,  lim- 
ing, manuring,  and  enriching  the  ground  enables  better  plants  to 
crowd  it  out.  The  horizontal  rootstocks  grow  so  near  the  surface 
that  cultivation  turns  them  out,  when  they  may  be  readily  raked 
away  and  removed. 

SWEET   COLTSFOOT 
Petasites  palmatus,  Gray 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom :  April  to  June. 

Seed-time:   May  to  July. 

Range :  Newfoundland  to  British  Columbia  and  Alaska,  southward 

to  Massachusetts,  New  York,  Michigan,  and  Minnesota. 
Habitat:   Recently  cleared  ground,  wet  meadows,  and  swamps. 

Scapes  stout,  appearing  before  the  leaves,  very  scaly,  and  vary- 
ing in  height  from  about  six  inches  when  in  first  bloom  to  nearly 
two  feet  when  mature.  Heads  in  corymbose  terminal  clusters, 
each  less  than  a  half-inch  broad,  pale  yellow  or  cream-color,  and 
fragrant ;  they  are  partly  dioecious,  the  fertile  plants  having  heads 
almost  wholly  pistillate,  with  one  or  more  outer  rows  of  ray 
florets;  the  perfect  but  sterile  flowers  have  tubular  five-cleft 
corollas  with  undivided  styles.  Leaves  finally  very  large,  often 
more  than  a  foot  broad,  rounded,  palmately  and  very  deeply  lobed, 
with  five  to  seven  segments  also  cut  and  toothed,  glossy  and  deep 
green  above  but  densely  white-woolly  below  especially  when  young. 
Rootstocks  very  large  and  thick. 

Like  Tussilago,  this  weed  is  driven  out  by  drainage  and  culti- 
vation. 

BUTTERFLY  DOCK 

Petasites  vulgaris,  Hill 

Other  English  names:    Butter  Dock,  Flea  Dock,  Poison  Rhubarb, 

Oxwort,  Pestilence  Wort,  Umbrella  Leaves. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstoeks. 
Time  of  bloom:   April  to  May. 
Seed-time :  Late  May  to  June, 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


503 


Range:  Eastern  Massachusetts  to  east- 
ern Pennsylvania. 

Habitat :  Moist  soil ;  cultivated  ground, 
waste  places. 

In  England,  whence  this  plant  came, 
it  is  a  pest  of  wet  meadows  and  is  said 
to  be  poisonous ;  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
its  present  restricted  range  in  this 
country  may  not  enlarge.  Scapes  stout, 
very  scaly,  six  to  eighteen  inches  tall. 
Heads  in  crowded,  racemose  clusters, 
each  about  a  half-inch  broad,  on  very 
short  pedicels,  pinkish  purple,  fragrant, 
the  florets  all  tubular ;  they  are  dioecious, 
the  staminate  heads  being  smaller  than 
the  fertile  ones.  Leaves  appearing  late, 
often  more  than  a  foot  broad  when  ma- 
ture, rounded  heart-shaped,  thick,  green 
and  smooth  above,  white-woolly  be- 
neath, irregularly  but  sharply  toothed, 
with  stout  petioles.  (Fig.  349.) 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Tussilago. 


FIG.   349.  —  Butterfly   Dock 
(Petasites  vulgaris).     X  £. 


FIREWEED,   OR   PILEWORT 
Erechtltes  hieracifolia,  Raf. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:   Newfoundland  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  southward  to 

Florida,  Louisiana,  and  Mexico. 
Habitat:    Woodland  borders  and  recently  cleared  land,  especially 

if  burned  over. 

Coarse  plants,  with  a  rank  odor  and  juices  most  nauseous  to 
the  taste.  It  is  a  medicinal  herb  for  which  collectors  receive  two 
or  three  cents  a  pound,  the  whole  plant  being  pulled  and  dried 
just  before  bloom,  in  which  process  the  leaves  turn  black. 

Stem  two  to  eight  feet  tall,  erect,  smooth  or  only  slightly  hairy, 
succulent,  grooved,  usually  with  ascending  branches.  Leaves 


504 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


FIG.  350. —  Fireweed  (Erechtites 
hieracifolia) .     X  £. 


lance-shaped,  thin;  irregularly  cut  and 
toothed,  the  lower  ones  narrowing 
to  margined  petioles,  the  upper  ones 
sessile,  clasping,  often  auricled  at 
base.  Flowers  in  open  terminal 
panicles,  the  heads  greenish  white, 
the  flowers  all  tubular  and  fertile, 
hardly  exceeding  the  nearly  cylindric, 
smooth  involucre,  which  is  slightly 
swollen  at  the  base.  Achenes  oblong, 
with  very  glistening,  fine,  white 
pappus.  (Fig.  350.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production  by  pull- 
ing or  close  cutting  before  the  first 
flowers  mature. 


COMMON   GROUNDSEL 

Senecio  vulgaris,  L. 


Other  English  names:   Grinsel,  Simson,  Birdseed,  Chicken  Weed. 
Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   April  to  October. 
Seed-time:   May  to  November. 

Range :  Newfoundland  and  Hudson  Bay  to  North  Carolina,  Michi- 
gan, and  South  Dakota.     Also  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 
Habitat:   Gardens  and  cultivated  fields,  waste  places. 

In  Europe,  whence  this  plant  came  to  us,  it  is  often  sown  to 
furnish  green  food  for  cage  birds  and  for  poultry.  In  this  country 
it  is  frequently  a  great  vexation  to  the  truck  gardener,  for  in  fertile 
soil  it  sometimes  appears  in  such  quantities  as  to  smother  all  other 


Stem  six  to  fifteen  inches  high,  succulent,  hollow,  slightly  angled, 
much  branched,  and  leafy  to  the  top.  Leaves  oblong,  pinnatifid, 
the  segments  also  oblong  and  toothed ;  the  lower  ones  taper  back- 
ward to  a  petiole,  but  those  of  the  stem  are  clasping  and  some- 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  505 

what  auricled.  Flower-heads  yellow,  without  rays,  about  a 
quarter-inch  broad,  the  bracts  of  the  involucre  linear,  with  a  few 
awl-shaped  outer  ones  which  are  black-tipped.  Achenes  oblong, 
finely  ribbed,  minutely  hairy,  with  a  very  copious,  fine,  white 
pappus,  by  help  of  which  they  are  widely  wind-sown. 

Means  of  control 

Frequent  hoe-cutting  while  the  plants  are  too  young  to  develop 
seed.  A  spray  of  four-per-cent  Copper-sulfate  solution  will  blast 
buds  and  temporarily  check  seed  development,  but  will  not  harm 
the  smooth  foliage,  so  that  the  plant  recovers  and  the  operation 
requires  to  be  repeated. 

BUTTERWEED 

Senecio  glabellus,  Poir. 
(Senecio  lobatus,  Pers.) 

Other  English  name:   Cress-leaved  Groundsel. 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seed. 

Time  of  bloom:   March  to  June. 

Seed-time :   May  to  July. 

Range:     North    Carolina   to   southern   Illinois 

and    Missouri,  southward  to  Florida,  Texas, 

and  New  Mexico. 
Habitat:   Fields,  meadows,  and  waste  places. 

A  rather  stout,  coarse  plant,  with  furrowed, 
hollow,  and  succulent  stem,  one  to  three  feet 
tall,  sparingly  branched.  Leaves  alternate, 
three  to  ten  inches  long,  smooth,  fleshy,  and 
tender,  and  most  variable  in  shape ;  they  are 
pinnately  divided,  the  segments  rounded  or 
oblong  or  spoon-shaped  or  pointed,  with  wavy- 
toothed  edges  or  entire,  but  usually  with  ter- 
minal segment  larger  than  the  others;  the 
basal  and  lower  leaves  have  slender  petioles, 
but  those  above  are  sessile.  Flowers  in  open 
corymbose  clusters,  the  heads  about  three-  „  ' 

.  rio.     351.  —  But- 

fourths  of  an  inch  broad,  bright  yellow,  with  terwecd  (Senecio  gla- 
six  to  twelve  broad,  wedge-shaped  rays,  bellus).  x  £. 


506  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

Achenes  minutely  hairy  on  the  ridges  with  a  long,  silky,  white 
pappus,  by  which  the  wind  is  able  to  distribute  them  very 
widely.  (Fig.  351.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production  by  every  means  possible.  Sheep  graz- 
ing ;  frequent  and  persistent  hoe-cutting  while  young ;  cultivation 
of  the  ground ;  even  hand-pulling  for  small  areas.  Being  annual, 
the  weed  must  succumb  if  not  permitted  to  reproduce  itself. 

STINKING    WILLIE 
Senecio  Jacobaea,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Common  Ragwort,  Tansy  Ragwort,  Stagger- 
wort,  St.  Jameswort,  Cankerweed,  Baughlan. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 

Time  of  bloom :   June  to  November. 

Seed-time:   July  to  December. 

Range:  Newfoundland,  Prince  Edward  Island,  Nova  Scotia,  and 
Quebec  ;  locally  in  Ontario,  Maine,  southern  New  York,  and  New 
Jersey. 

Habitat :  Fields,  meadows,  pastures,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

The  range  of  this  coarse  and  dangerous  weed  is  not  at  present 
very  extensive,  and  every  effort  should  be  made  to  prevent  its 
further  dissemination.  When  eaten  by  cattle  it  causes  a  fatal 
disease  of  the  liver  (Hepatic  cirrhosis),  locally  known  as  Pictou 
Disease,  which  for  many  years  was  supposed  to  be  contagious  be- 
cause of  the  fact  that  whole  herds  were  often  affected  at  the  same 
time.  But  long  investigation  and  a  series  of  careful  experiments 
made  under  the  direction  of  the  Veterinary  Director  General  of  the 
Dominion  of  Canada  have  proved  that  this  weed  is  the  cause  of 
the  trouble.  The  Molteno  Cattle  Disease  of  South  Africa  is  simi- 
lar and  is  due  to  the  same  cause.  When  green,  the  whole  plant 
emits  a  most  disagreeable,  fetid  odor,  and  is  disliked  by  grazing 
animals ;  but  when  dried  in  hay  it  is  freely  eaten  by  all  kinds  of 
stock  and  is  then  a  serious  danger.  Plants  that  are  harvested  and 
cured  just  before  coming  into  bloom  are  said  to  be  at  their  most 
noxious  stage.  (Fig.  352.) 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


507 


The  weed  springs  from  rather  shallow  and  fibrous  roots,  from 
which  a  few  short,  thick  rootstocks  are  extended.  Stem  two  to 
three  feet  tall,  erect,  stiff,  grooved,  very  leafy,  and  branching  at 
the  top.  Leaves  dark  green,  deeply  twice  pinnatifid,  the  terminal 
segment  largest,  particularly  of  the  lower 
leaves,  which  are  six  to  eight  inches  long 
.and  petioled;  stem-leaves  more  slender, 
smaller,  and  sessile.  Flowers  in  large, 
many-headed,  branching,  flat-topped  clus- 
ters, very  showy  and  handsome.  Heads 
golden  yellow,  nearly  an  inch  broad,  with 
twelve  to  fifteen  wedge-shaped  rays,  toothed 
at  their  tips.  Both  rays  and  disk-florets 
are  fertile.  Achenes  light  yellow,  grooved, 
oblong,  those  of  the  disk-florets  bristly 
and  straight,  those  of  the  rays  smooth  and 
curved.  Pappus  very  copious,  white,  and 
silky. 


Means  of  control 

All  plants  in  infested  meadows  should  be 
pulled  or  grubbed  out  while  in  their  earliest 
bloom,  before  the  hay  is  harvested.  Plants 
in  pastures,  in  waste  places,  and  on  road- 
sides should  be  closely  cut,  piled,  and 
burned  before  any  seed  has  matured  to  be 
sown  by  the  wind  about  the  countryside, 
cultivated  crops  would  cleanse  infested 
perennial  roots  and  its  dormant  seeds. 


FIG.     352.  —  Stinking 
Willie  (Senecio  Jacobcea). 


A  short  rotation  of 
ground    of    both    its 


GOLDEN   RAGWORT 

Senecio  aiireus,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Squaw  Weed,   Life  Root,   False  Valerian, 

Grundy  Swallow. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 
Time  of  bloom:   May  to  July. 
Seed-time:   June  to  August. 


608  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILI) 

Range:   Newfoundland  to  Florida,  westward  to  Ontario,  Missouri, 

and  Texas. 
Habitat:  Moist  fields  and  meadows,  banks  of  streams,  and  swamps. 

The  slender,  creeping  rootstocks  of  this  plant  are  strong-scented, 
whence  its  name  of  False  Valerian.  It  is  said  to  be  unwholesome 
for  cattle  and  horses,  but  not  so  much  so  as  Sen&cio  Jacobaea; 
sheep  feed  on  it,  however,  without  any  apparent  harm. 

Stems  two  or  three  from  the  same  root,  very  slender,  grooved, 
marked  with  twisting  brown  streaks,  one  to  three  feet  tall.  When 
young  the  whole  plant  is  webby-haired  but  soon  becomes  smooth. 
Root  leaves  appear  in  early  April  and  look  somewhat  like  those  of 
the  violet ;  heart-shaped,  rather  thick  in  texture,  scallop-toothed, 
dark  green  above,  purplish  red  beneath,  with  long,  slim  petioles. 
Stem  leaves  very  different;  the  lower  ones  oblong,  pinnatifid,  with 
terminal  segments  large,  and  with  short,  margined  petioles ;  those 
near  the  top  more  slender,  sessile,  and  clasping.  Flowers  in  open, 
flat  clusters,  the  heads  nearly  an  inch  broad,  with  eight  to  twelve 
deep  golden  rays  and  brownish  orange  disks,  both  kinds  of  florets 
fertile.  Achenes  ribbed  and  smooth,  with  very  copious,  silky, 
white  pappus,  by  which  they  are  borne  far  on  the  winds. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  spreading  by  seed  production  by  cutting  while  in  first 
bloom.  In  small  areas,  rootstocks  may  be  hand-pulled  or  grubbed 
out ;  but  drainage  and  cultivation  of  the  ground  are  necessary  in 
order  to  cleanse  rankly  infested  fields  and  meadows  of  this  weed. 


GREAT  BURDOCK 

Arctium  Ldppa,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Beggar's  Buttons,  Cockle  Button,  Hardock, 
Hurr-bur. 

Introduced.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   July  to  October. 

Seed-time:  The  earlier  flowers  mature  in  September,  but  fruits  re- 
main on  the  stalks  all  winter  if  not  disseminated  nor  destroyed. 

Range:  Eastern  Canada  and  New  England,  southward  to  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Ohio :  locally  in  Middle  Western  States. 

Habitat:   Fence  rows,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


509 


The  presence  of  one  of  these  huge  weeds  in  flower  and  fruit 
should  be  considered  a  disgrace  to  the  owner  of  the  soil  so  occupied, 
for  it  must  have  remained  in  undisturbed  possession  of  the  ground 
for  the  necessary  second  year  of  growth  before  reproduction. 

The  root  is  enormous ;  often  three  inches  thick,  driving  straight 
downward  for  a  foot  or  more  and  then  branching  in  all  directions, 
taking  strong  hold  on  the  soil  and  grossly  robbing  it.  Stem  four 
to  nine  feet  in  height,  stout, 
ridged,  rough-hairy,  with  spread- 
ing branches.  Leaves  broadly 
oval,  the  lower  ones  often  more 
than  a  foot  in  length  and  nearly 
as  wide,  rather  thin  but  strongly 
ribbed  and  veined,  with  wavy  or 
slightly  ruffled  edges  which  save 
them  from  being  torn  by  the 
wind,  light  green,  woolly  and 
felt-like  beneath  but  darker  and 
smooth  above,  with  deeply  fur- 
rowed, solid  petioles  dilated  at 
base  to  clasp  the  stem.  Heads  in 
crowded  axillary  clusters,  each 
sometimes  more  than  an  inch 
broad,  often  on  rather  long  pe- 
duncles ;  florets  all  tubular  and 
perfect;  corollas  pink,  five-lobed, 
the  ring  of  anthers  purple,  stig- 
mas and  pollen  white ;  bracts  of 
the  involucre  in  many  series,  rigid,  hooked  inwardly  at  the  tip, 
spreading  at  differing  angles,  making  the  heads  nearly  globular. 
Achenes  oblong,  three-angled,  mottled  gray  and  brown,  crowned 
with  a  short,  bristly  pappus.  Widely  distributed  in  the  burs  by 
animals,  and  on  garments  of  passers-by.  (Fig.  353.) 

Burdock  roots  and  seeds  are  used  in  medicine  and  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  weeds  may  sometimes  be  made  profitable ;  roots  should 
be  collected  in  autumn  of  the  first  year  of  growth,  cleaned,  sliced 
lengthwise,  and  carefully  dried ;  the  price  is  three  to  eight  cents  a 
pound  ;  ripe  seeds  bring  five  to  ten  cents  a  pound. 


FIG.    353.  —  Great    Burdock    (Arc- 
tium  Lappa).     X  i. 


510  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

Means  of  control 

Destroy  the  seedlings  by  hoe-cutting;  some  will  escape  and 
spread  sprawling  rosettes,  which  must  be  deeply  cut  with  spud  or 
hoe ;  if  merely  shaved  at  the  top,  the  food-filled  root  will  imme- 
diately crown  itself  anew,  but  deep  cutting  kills.  If  any  are  left 
until  the  second  year,  cut  the  flowering  stalks  close  to  the  ground 
before  any  of  the  heads  are  mature. 

COMMON   BURDOCK 

Arctium  minus,  Bernh. 

Introduced.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  November. 

Seed-time :    September ;    the  later  ripened  burs  persistent  on   the 

stalks  all  winter. 

Range:   Throughout  North  America. 
Habitat:   Fence  rows,  roadsides,  waste  places. 

Smaller  than  the  preceding  species,  the  stems  being  three  to 
five  feet  in  height,  erect,  grooved,  and  branching.  Leaves  broadly 
ovate,  obtuse,  usually  heart-shaped  at  base,  light  green  and  woolly- 
hairy  beneath,  darker  and  smooth  above,  the  stout  petioles  hollow, 
and  not  grooved  as  are  those  of  Great  Burdock.  Heads  numerous, 
racemose  on  the  branches,  sessile  or  on  short  peduncles,  about  a 
half-inch  broad ;  bracts  of  the  involucre  short,  smooth  or  slightly 
woolly,  the  hooked  tips,  like  those  of  Great  Burdock,  turned  in- 
ward, the  outer  rows  somewhat  spreading,  the  inner  ones  erect 
and  shorter  than  the  flowers.  Achenes  show  almost  none  of  the 
gray  and  brown  mottling  characteristic  of  those  of  the  larger 
weed.  Cows  are  fond  of  the  plant,  but  if  it  is  eaten  by  them  in 
any  quantity,  the  milk  takes  a  bitter  flavor. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Great  Burdock. 

COMMON   OR  BULL    THISTLE 

Cirdum  lanceolatum,  Hill 
(Cdrduus  lanceoldtus,  L.) 

Other  English  names:    Spear  Thistle,  Plume  Thistle,  Bur  Thistle, 

Lance-leaved  Thistle. 
Introduced.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


511 


Time  of  bloom:  July  to  October. 
Seed-time:  August  to  November. 
Range:  Newfoundland  to  Minnesota  and  Nebraska,  southward  to 

Georgia  and  Missouri. 
Habitat:  Pastures,  fence  rows,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

In  order  to  mature  fruit  these  plants  must  remain  undisturbed 
until  the  second  year  of  growth ;  the  first  season  produces  only  a 
deep  taproot  crowned  by  a  large, 
tufted,  spreading  rosette  of  leaves, 
three  to  six  or  more  inches  long, 
lance-shaped,  deeply  pinnatifid,  the 
lobes  tipped  with  spines,  the  upper 
surface  deep  green  and  rough-hairy 
but  the  under  side  clothed  with 
brownish,  webby  wool  which  disap- 
pears as  the  plants  grow  older. 
Stems  two  to  four  feet  high,  stout, 
branching,  leafy  to  the  heads.  Leaves 
decurrent  on  the  stem,  the  wings 
extending  to  the  axil  of  the  leaf 
below,  the  edges  very  prickly. 
Heads  large,  about  two  inches 
high  and  nearly  as  broad,  mostly 
solitary  at  the  ends  of  stem  and 
branches,  the  bracts  of  the  invo- 
lucre lance-shaped,  long-pointed,  all 
tipped  with  needle-like  spines ;  flo- 
rets all  tubular,  five-lobed,  deep 
purple,  fragrant.  Achenes  light- 
colored,  oblong,  slightly  flattened  and 
curved,  with  long,  plumose,  white  pappus.  (Fig.  354.)  Gold- 
finches are  very  fond  of  these  seeds  and  usually  build  their  nests 
of  Thistle-down,  a  habit  which  has  gained  for  them  the  name  of 
"Thistle-birds." 

Means  of  control 

Deep  spudding  or  hoe-cutting  of  first-year  rosettes ;    flowering 
stalks  should  be  cut  below  the  crown,  before  the  first  flowers  mature ; 


FIG.  354.  —  Common  or  Bull 
Thistle  (Circium  lanceolaturri) . 
XJ. 


512  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

if  cut  above  the  surface  of  the  ground,  they  will  stool  and  require 
attention  a  second  time.  Cultivation  of  the  ground  at  once  de- 
stroys these  plants. 

TALL  THISTLE 

Clrdum  altissimum,  Spreng. 
(Cdrduus  altissimus,  L.) 

Other  English  names:   Roadside  Thistle,  Horse  Thistle. 

Native.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   Late  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:  August  to  October. 

Range:   Massachusetts  to  Minnesota  and  Nebraska,  southward  to 

Florida  and  Texas. 
Habitat :   Roadsides,  borders  of  fields,  waste  places. 

Root  thickened,  deep-boring,  and  winter  rosettes  very  large. 
Stem  three  to  ten  feet  in  height,  branching,  downy-hairy.  Leaves 
oblong  lance-shaped,  the  lowermost  sometimes  pinnatifid  into 
triangular  lobes,  with  short,  margined  petioles,  but  those  above 
wavy-edged  and  prickly-toothed,  sessile  or  somewhat  clasping  but 
not  decurrent,  dark  green  and  rough-hairy  above,  white-woolly 
beneath.  Heads  solitary,  terminal,  about  two  inches  broad, 
light  purple,  the  outer  bracts  of  the  involucre  with  a  dark,  glandu- 
lar spot  on  the  back  and  tipped  with  spreading  spines ;  the  inner 
scales  without  prickles.  Achenes  dark  brown,  numerous,  with 
copious,  white,  plumose  pappus. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  Spear  Thistle. 


PASTURE,   OR   FRAGRANT,   THISTLE 

Cirdum  pumilum,  Spreng. 
(Cdrduus  odoratus,  Porter) 

Native.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 
Seed-time:   August  to  October. 
Range :  Maine  to  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware. 
Habitat:   Pastures,  and  borders  of  fields. 

Root  round,  thick,  solid,  often  branching,  the  autumn  tufts  of 
leaves  large  and  spreading.  Stem  one  to  three  feet  tall,  stout, 
hairy,  with  few  branches,  very  leafy.  Leaves  oblong  lance-shaped, 


(JOMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


513 


sessile  or  partly  clasping, 
softly  hairy,  green  on  both 
sides,  pinnatifid,  the  lobes 
short,  triangular,  very 
prickly-toothed.  Heads 
purple,  pale  lilac,  or  some- 
times nearly  white,  very 
large,  often  three  inches 
broad,  very  sweet-scented ; 
bumblebees  are  nearly  al- 
ways probing  them  for 
nectar,  and  in  the  writer's 
childhood  it  was  a  custom 
of  country  children  to  strip 
away  the  bracts,  pull  the 
florets  from  the  receptacle, 
and  eat  the  sugary  nectaries 
like  taffy ;  the  heads  are 
solitary,  terminal,,  usually 
subtended  by  involucrate 
clusters  of  small  leaves,  the 
outer  bracts  of  the  invo- 
lucre sometimes  slightly 
glutinous  on  the  back, 
prickly-tipped,  the  inner  ones  unarmed  and  very  slender. 
(Fig.  355.) 
Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  Common  Thistle. 


FIG.    355. —  Pasture    or    Fragrant    Thistle 
(Circium  pumilum).     X  «. 


YELLOW-SPINED   THISTLE 

Circium  ochrocentum,  Gray 
(Cdrduus  ochrocentrus,  Greene) 

Native.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   May  to  September. 

Seed-time:  July  to  October. 

Range :  Nebraska  to  Nevada,  Arizona,  and  Texas. 

Habitat:   Plains  and  prairies. 

2L 


514  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

Stem  two  to  six  feet  tall,  stout,  densely  white-woolly,  leafy  to 
the  top.  Leaves  oblong  lance-shaped  in  outline  but  deeply  pin- 
natifid  into  triangular  or  lance-shaped  segments,  armed  with  long, 
stiff,  yellow  spines,  white-woolly  on  the  under  side,  sessile  or 
slightly  clasping,  the  lowest  with  short,  margined  petioles.  Heads 
solitary,  terminal,  about  two  inches  broad,  the  outer  bracts  of  the 
involucre  lance-shaped  and  tipped  with  stout,  yellow  spines  about 
as  long  as  themselves,  the  inner  ones  long-pointed  but  unarmed ; 
flowers  light  purple. 

Another  Thistle  of  the  plains,  much  resembling  this  one  in  its 
dense  white-woolliness  but  smaller  and  less  fiercely  armed,  is  the 
WAVY-LEAVED  THISTLE  (Circium  undulatum,  Spreng),  which  has 
a  wider  range,  extending  to  the  Northwest  Territory. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  C.  lanceolatum. 


CANADA   THISTLE 

Circium  arvense,  Scop. 
(Cdrduus  arvensis,  Robs.)     • 

Other   English  names:    Creeping   Thistle,   Small-flowered   Thistle, 

Perennial  Thistle,  Cursed  Thistle. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 
Time  of  bloom :  June  to  August. 
Seed-time:  July  to  September. 
Range:    Newfoundland   to   the   northwest   provinces  and   British 

Columbia,  southward  to  Virginia  and  Kansas. 
Habitat:     Cultivated    fields,    meadows,    pastures,    roadsides,    and 

waste  places. 

In  1896  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  published 
a  bulletin,  "Legislation  against  Weeds,"  compiling  the  acts  then 
on  the  statute-books  of  the  several  states  and  recommending  a 
general  state  weed  law,  sufficiently  elastic  to  fit  the  varying  flora, 
soils,  and  climate.  Therein  it  is  shown  that  all  but  three  of  the 
states  having  laws  for  the  suppression  of  weeds  make  it  an  offense 
for  their  citizens  to  permit  the  Canada  Thistle  to  mature  and 
scatter  its  seeds.  Penalties  are  also  provided  in  the  case  of  seeds- 
men who  sell  grain,  grass,  or  clover  seeds  contaminated  by  its 
presence  —  but  the  thistle  marches  on,  bidding  defiance  in  every 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


515 


prickle  to  such  attempts  at  its  extermination.     The  laws  are  very 
good  but  enforcement  is  neglected.     (Fig.  356.) 

The  jointed,  horizontal  rootstocks  are  the  most  obnoxious  part 
of  the  plant ;  round,  slender,  like 
tough,  white  whipcords,  lying  so 
deep  in  the  ground  as  to  be  al- 
ways sure  of  moisture,  they  creep 
in  every  direction  for  rods  even 
(the  writer  helped  to  trace  one 
over  eighteen  feet  long),  sending 
up  new  plants  at  short  intervals ; 
if  broken  and  dragged  about  by 
farm  implements,  the  pieces  grow, 
so  that  ordinary  cultivation  but 
serves  to  spread  the  pest.  Stem 
one  to  four  feet  tall,  erect,  slen- 
der, grooved,  woody,  nearly 
smooth.  Leaves  three  to  six 
inches  long,  sessile  and  slightly 
clasping,  deeply  and  irregularly 
pinnatifid,  the  margins  loosely 
crisped,  toothed  with  hard,  white, 
needle-like  spines  pointing  in  all 
directions.  Heads  in  terminal  and  axillary  clusters,  the  topmost 
ones  opening  first,  the  bloom  proceeding  in  succession  down  the 
stalk.  The  heads  are  about  a  half-inch  broad,  imperfectly  dioecious, 
the  pedicels  and  bracts  without  spines,  the  florets  rose-purple, 
fragrant.  Achenes  oblong,  smooth,  with  fine,  white  pappus. 


FIG.   356.  —  Creeping  or   Canada 
Thistle  (Circium  arvense).     X  i. 


Means  of  control 

Persistent  starvation  of  the  rootstocks  by  keeping  them  de- 
prived of  the  food-assimilating  green  leaves ;  this  means  frequent 
cutting  throughout  the  growing  season  for  at  least  two  years.  In 
cultivated  ground  the  required  tillage  keeps  the  weed  in  check. 
In  grain  fields  a  spray  of  Copper  sulfate  in  a  solution  of  fifteen 
pounds  to  a  barrel  of  water  (fifty-two  gallons),  applied  before  the 
grain  begins  to  head  and  when  the  young  thistles  are  not  more 


516  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

than  ten  to  fifteen  inches  tall,  will  so  damage  the  succulent  tops 
that  the  plants  will  not  recover  sufficiently  to  produce  buds  before 
they  are  again  cut  with  the  grain.  After  harvest  new  plants  sent 
up  by  the  rootstocks  should  be  cut  off  with  a  broad-shared  culti- 
vator, the  blades  of  which  should  be  sharp  and  overlapping  suffi- 
ciently to  cut  everything  before  them.  Subsequent  fall  plowing 
will  insure  that  the  rootstocks  get  very  little  sustenance  in  that 
year.  In  the  next  season  a  well-tilled  and  profitable  hoed  crop 
should  leave  the  ground  clean  of  thistles  and  other  weeds,  and  in 
good  trim  for  a  spring  grain  crop  —  barley  or  oats  —  which  should 
be  seeded  with  red  clover.  Waysides  and  waste  places  should 
receive  attention ;  in  these  places  the  patches  are  best  treated 
with  hot  brine,  caustic  soda,  or  kerosene,  killing  all  other  plant 

growth  as  well  but  ridding  the 
ground  at  once  of  the  prickly 
pests. 

SCOTCH  THISTLE 
Onopdrdum  Acdnthium,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Cotton 
Thistle,  Downy  Thistle,  Silver 
Thistle,  Queen  Mary's  Thistle, 
Asses'  Thistle. 

Introduced .  Annual  or  biennial . 
Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  Septem- 
ber. 

Seed-time:  August  to  October. 

Range:  New  Brunswick  and 
Nova  Scotia  to  Ontario,  south- 
ward to  New  Jersey  and  Ohio. 

Habitat:  Roadsides  and  waste 
places. 

Said  to  be  the  heraldic  plant 
of   Scotland,  but  now  probably 
more   abundant  in   its    adopted 
land   than   on  its  native  heath. 
Stems   three   to   nine   feet    tall, 
FIG.  357.  —  Scotch  Thistle  (Onopor-    erect,     stout,     branching ;      the 
dum  Acanthium).     x  \.  whole  plant  densely  clothed  all 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  517 

over  with  silvery  white  cotton  wool.  Leaves  oblong  lance- 
shaped,  thick,  irregularly  lobed  and  toothed,  decurrent  on  the 
stems,  the  margins  and  the  broad  basal  wings  edged  with  sharp, 
yellow-tipped  spines.  Heads  terminal,  solitary,  large,  broader 
than  their  height ;  florets  purple ;  the  outer  bracts  of  the  invo- 
lucre narrowly  oblong,  with  slightly  roughened  edges,  and  tipped 
with  spreading  yellow  spines.  Achenes  faintly  ribbed,  the  pappus 
brownish  and  bristly.  (Fig.  357.) 
Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  Common  Thistle. 

PURPLE   STAR-THISTLE 
Centaurea  Calcitrapa,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Caltrops,  Maize  Thorn. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range :    Atlantic  States  from  Massachusetts  to  North  Carolina ; 

also  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 
Habitat:   Pastures,  roadsides,  waste  places. 

A  bushy,  deep  green,  leafy  plant,  one  to  two  feet  tall.  Leaves 
only  slightly  hairy,  the  lower  ones  pinnately  divided  into  lance- 
shaped,  irregularly  toothed  lobes,  the  petioles  often  narrowly 
winged  but  not  decurrent ;  the  upper  ones  undivided,  sessile, 
slightly  clasping,  the  teeth  on  all  slightly  spinulose  but  not  prickly. 
Heads  about  an  inch  broad,  sessile  or  on  very  short  peduncles, 
terminal,  or  in  the  forks,  or  scattered  along  the  branches ;  in- 
volucre ovoid,  and  all  but  its  innermost  row  of  bracts  tipped  with 
stout,  sharp,  light  yellow,  spreading  spines,  a  half-inch  to  an  inch 
long,  each  fierce  pricker  subtended  by  one  to  four  pairs  of  harmless 
little  spines  at  its  broadened  base.  Florets  all  tubular,  the  corollas 
reddish  purple,  the  outer  row  sterile,  the  rest  perfect  and  fertile. 
Achenes  brown,  flattened,  obscurely  four-sided,  smooth,  and  with- 
out a  pappus. 

Means  of  control 

Cutting  to  the  surface  of  the  ground  when  in  first  bloom,  re- 
peating the  operation  if  the  plants  recover  and  put  forth  new  buds. 


518 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


ST.   BARNABY'S   THISTLE 
Centaiirea  solstitialis,  L. 

Other  English  name:  Yellow  Star  Thistle. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:    Late  August  to  November. 

Range:    Massachusetts  to   Ontario  and  Iowa,   southward  to  the 

Carolinas  and  Arkansas ;   also  common  on  Pacific  Coast. 
Habitat:   Fields,  pastures,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

Seeds  of  this  thistle  have  been  noted  by  Alfalfa  growers  as  a 
common  impurity  in  Alfalfa  seed,  especially  of  states  of  the  Ohio 
River  Valley.  They  are  so  nearly  the  same  weight  of  alfalfa 
seed  as  to  make  removal  difficult.  When 
in  the  soil  the  seeds  have  a  vitality  of 
about  three  years,  and  are  a  most  un- 
desirable acquisition. 

Stem  stout,  rigid,  erect,  fifteen  to  thirty 
inches  tall,  widely  branched,  gray  with 
loose  woolly  hair,  and  broadly  winged  by 
the  decurrent  bases  of  the  leaves ;  these 
are  also  gray -woolly,  the  lower  ones  pinnate 
with  terminal  segment  large  (lyrate),  and 
lateral  lobes  narrow  with  wavy  or  sparsely 
toothed  edges ;  upper  leaves  small,  entire, 
nearly  linear,  but  all  strongly  decurrent. 
Heads  terminal,  solitary,  more  than  an 
inch  broad,  bright  yellow;  involucre 
broadly  ovoid  or  nearly  globular,  the 
inner  row  of  its  bracts  ending  in  shining, 
scarious  tips  ;  the  intermediate  row  armed 
with  rigid,  yellow,  divergent  spines  nearly 
an  inch  long,  with  one  or  two  shorter 
ones  at  the  base ;  and  the  outermost  row 
having  short,  palmately  branched  spines. 
Achenes  light-colored,  smooth,  shining, 
with  soft,  white  pappus  much  longer  than  the  achene.  (Fig. 
358.) 


FIG.  358.  —  St.  Bar- 
naby's  Thistle  (Centaurea 
solstitialis).  X  1. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  519 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production,  either  by  cutting  while  in  first  bloom 
or  by  wholly  uprooting.  The  labor  of  hand-pulling  in  alfalfa  and 
grain  fields  is  worth  the  cost,  if  expensive  seed  is  saved  from  con- 
tamination and  the  ground  is  kept  from  being  fouled  for  another 
season. 

MALTESE   THISTLE 
Centatirea  melitensis,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Napa  Thistle,  Toealote. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range:    Atlantic  States,  mostly  in  the  neighborhood  of  seaports; 

also  on  the  Pacific  Coast ;   casual  in  other  places. 
Habitat:   Fields,  pastures,  waste  places. 

As  a  weed  this  plant  is  most  common  and  troublesome  on  the 
Pacific  Coast,  and  it  is  by  means  of  Californian  seed  grain  that  it 
has  found  its  way  into  many  new  localities.  It  is  an  arduous  task 
to  cleanse  the  smooth,  wedge-shaped  achenes  from  such  seed,  but 
less  strenuous  than  fighting  the  growing  weeds. 

Stem  stout,  much  branched,  one  to  two  feet  tall.  Flower-heads 
yellow,  which  cause  it  to  be  often  confused  with  St.  Barnaby's 
Thistle ;  but  it  differs  from  the  latter  in  that  its  hairy  covering  is 
roughish  instead  of  being  soft  and  floccose ;  also  the  leaves  are 
but  slightly  decurrent,  the  lower  ones  pinnatifid,  the  upper  ones 
very  narrow  and  mostly  entire.  Heads  terminal,  about  a  half- 
inch  broad,  sometimes  in  clusters  of  two  or  three  but  often  solitary ; 
bracts  of  the  involucre  stiff,  the  inner  row  terminated  with  weak, 
ascending,  purplish  spines ;  the  intermediate  row  with  short, 
rigid,  divergent  spines,  about  a  quarter-inch  in  length,  either 
simple  or  with  one  or  two  shorter  ones  at  base ;  and  the  outer  row 
having  very  short,  palmatifid  spines.  Achenes  light  gray,  with 
pappus  often  in  triple  rows,  the  central  row  longest,  the  inner  and 
outer  ones  very  short. 

The  same  measures  should  be  used  for  its  control  as  for  St. 
Barnaby's  Thistle. 


520  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

BACHELOR'S  BUTTON 
Centaurea  Cyanus,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Bluebottle,  Blue  Bonnets,  Ragged  Robin, 

Corn  Flower,  Hurtsickle. 
Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   July  to  September. 
Seed-time:   August  to  October. 
Range:    Locally  in  many  parts  of  the  country;    most  common  in 

Quebec,  western  New  York,  and  Virginia. 
Habitat :  Fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

In  Europe  this  plant  is  a  pest  of  grain  fields.  In  this  country  it 
is  much  cultivated  in  flower  gardens  for  its  beauty,  but  has  escaped 
in  many  localities  and,  if  neglected,  may  become  troublesome. 

Stem  one  to  two  feet  tall,  very  slender,  branched  and  leafy  and 
softly  woolly  all  over,  giving  the  foliage  a  grayish  green  tint; 
when  old  it  becomes  very  hard  and  woody,  whence  its  name  of 
Hurtsickle.  Leaves  alternate,  three  to  six  inches  long,  those  on  the 
upper  part  of  the  plant  linear  and  entire,  those  on  the  lower  part 
often  toothed  or  pinnatifid.  Flower-heads  about  an  inch  and  a  half 
broad,  solitary  on  long,  slender  peduncles,  usually  blue,  but  may 
be  violet,  pink,  or  white ;  florets  all  tubular,  those  in  the  center 
small  and  slender,  perfect,  and  fertile,  those  of  the  outer  row  much 
longer,  funnel-shaped,  showy,  and  spreading,  with  deeply  notched 
edges,  pistillate  but  sterile ;  involucre  ovoid,  its  bracts  imbricated 
in  about  four  unequal  series,  of  a  greenish  straw-color  with  darker 
tips  and  margins,  or  fringed  with  chaffy  teeth.  Achenes  four- 
sided,  somewhat  flattened,  and  tipped  with  a  pappus  of  rough, 
rusty  brown  hairs  of  unequal  length.  These  seeds  have  a  vital- 
ity of  several  years  as  shown  by  the  recurrence  of  seedlings  on 
ground  where  the  plants  have  been  cultivated. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  development  by  cutting  or  pulling  while  in  early 
bloom.  In  this  country  the  weed  is  seldom  abundant  in  grain 
fields,  but  where  it  does  appear  many  of  the  seedlings  may  be 
raked  out  with  a  weeding  harrow,  without  injury  to  the  crop,  at 
the  time  when  the  first  lower,  pinnatifid  leaves  have  grown. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  521 

BROWN   KNAPWEED 
Centaiirea  Jdcea,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Rayed  Knapweed,  Brown  Centanry. 
Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seed. 
Time  of  bloom :  June  to  September. 
-  Seed-time :   Late  July  to  November. 
Range:   New  England  States,  southward  to  New  Jersey. 
Habitat:   Fields,  pastures,  and  waste  places. 

An  immigrant  from  Europe  not  yet  very  widely  disseminated  in 
this  country.  Stems,  several  from  the  same  thick,  woody,  branch- 
ing root,  erect,  stiff,  grooved,  slender,  one  to  two  feet  in  height, 
branching  near  the  top.  Leaves  narrowly  lance-shaped,  the  lower 
ones  sparsely  toothed  and  tapering  to  a  petiole,  the  upper  ones 
entire  and  sessile.  Heads  showy,  an  inch  or  more  broad,  with 
rosy  purple  corollas,  all  tubular  but  the  outer  row  with  enlarged 
and  lengthened  lobes,  simulating  rays ;  these  showy  florets  are 
sterile ;  involucres  nearly  globose,  the  bracts  closely  imbricated, 
glossy  dark  brown,  the  outer  row  fringed,  the  middle  ones  slightly 
lacerate,  the  inner  ones  entire  or  nearly  so.  Achenes  four-sided 
and  without  pappus. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seeding  by  cutting  while  in  early  bloom,  and,  if  the  area 
infested  is  small  and  the  plants  are  not  too  numerous,  grub  out  or 
hand-pull  the  perennial  roots  when  the  ground  has  been  softened 
by  rain.  Otherwise  they  may  be  destroyed  by  putting  the  land 
under  cultivation. 

BLACK  KNAPWEED 
Centaiirea  nlgra,  L. 

Other  English  names :  Horse-knobs,  Hardheads,  Loggerheads,  Hurt- 
sickle,  Spanish  Buttons,  Black  Centaury. 
Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   July  to  September. 
Seed-time:    Late  August  to  November. 

Range:   Newfoundland  to  Ontario,  and  southward  to  New  Jersey. 
Habitat:   Fields,  pastures,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 


522  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

Considered  in  Europe  a  very  pernicious  grassland  weed,  because 
of  its  large,  branching,  perennial  roots,  hard,  woody  stems,  and 
rough  foliage,  which  cattle  will  not  touch  either  as  green  forage  or 
as  hay. 

Stems  one  to  two  feet  in  height,  rough-hairy,  grooved,  erect, 
and  branching.  Leaves  also  rough-hairy,  the  lower  and  basal 
ones  three  to  six  inches  in  length,  spatulate-oblong,  sparsely 
toothed  or  entire,  tapering  to  long  petioles ;  the  upper  ones  small, 
lance-shaped,  entire,  sessile  or  partly  clasping,  growing  quite  up 
to  and  subtending  the  heads.  These  are  a  little  less  than  an 
inch  broad,  with  rosy  purple  florets,  all  tubular,  perfect,  and  fertile ; 
involucre  globose,  the  bracts  closely  imbricated,  their  appendages 
very  long  and  edged  with  stiff  hairs  like  minute  combs ;  the  outer 
and  middle  rows  both  thus  fringed,  the  inner  one  merely  lacerate ; 
all  black  or  very  dark  brown,  or  the  inner  row  lighter  in  color 
than  the  other  two.  Achenes  four-sided,  without  pappus  or  some- 
times with  a  ring  of  minute  scales. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  preceding  species. 

BLESSED   THISTLE 

Cnlcus  benedictus,  L. 
(Centaiirea  benedlcta,  L.) 

Other  English  names:  Holy  Thistle,  St.  Benedict's  Thistle,  Our 
Lady's  Thistle,  Bitter  Thistle,  Spotted  Thistle. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   May  to  August. 

Seed-time:   June  to  September. 

Range:  New  Brunswick  and  Nova  Scotia  to  Pennsylvania,  Mary- 
land, and  the  Southern  States ;  also  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 

Habitat:   Pastures,  roadsides,  waste  places. 

The  Blessed  Thistle  is  a  native  of  Asia.  It  is  said  that  return- 
ing Crusaders  brought  the  plant  into  Europe  because  of  its  me- 
dicinal qualities,  and  for  the  same  reason  it  came  with  the  early 
settlers  to  America.  It  is  still  the  principal  ingredient  of  "bitter 
tonics,"  and  its  leaves  and  flowering  tops,  collected  in  their  first 
bloom  and  quickly  dried,  are  quoted  in  the  drug  market  at  six 
to  eight  cents  a  pound.  (Fig.  359.) 

Stem  fifteen  to  thirty  inches  tall,  stout,  erect,  much  branched, 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  523 

and  softly  woolly.  Leaves  alternate,  three  to  six  inches  long,  lance- 
shaped  in  outline  but  deeply  cut  and  lobed,  the  margins  toothed  and 
very  spiny ;  they  are  rather  thin,  net-veined,  hairy,  the  lower  ones 
narrowing  to  margined  petioles,  the  upper  ones  sessile  and  clasp^ 
ing.  Heads  large,  solitary,  terminal,  closely  surrounded  by  the 
upper  leaves,  deep  yellow,  about 
two  inches  broad,  the  florets  all 
tubular,  those  in  the  central 
part  perfect  and  fertile,  those 
around  the  margin  shorter  than 
the  others  and  sterile;  invo- 
lucre ovoid,  its  bracts  imbri- 
cated in  several  rows,  the  outer 
ones  ovate  and  leathery,  the 
inner  ones  lance-shaped  and 
tipped  with  long,  rigid,  pinnately 
branched,  reddish  yellow  spines. 
Achenes  oblong,  ridged,  crowned 
with  a  double  pappus,  the  inner 
row  of  short,  fine,  white  hairs, 
the  outer  one  of  stiff,  yellow 
bristles,  about  twice  as  long. 

Means  of  control 

Being  annual,  the  persistent  Fl0'  359. -Blessed  Thistle  (Cnicus 
prevention  of  seed  development 
will  suppress  the  weed,  and,  if  its  leaves  and  budding  flowers  can 
be  sold  for  enough  to  pay  for  the  labor  required,  so  much  the 
better. 

NIPPLEWORT 
Ldpsana  commiinis,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Succory  Dock,  Ballogan. 
Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   June  to  September. 
Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range:    Quebec  and  Ontario  to  Michigan,  southward  to  Pennsyl- 
vania and  New  Jersey ;   also  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 
Habitat:   Fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 


524 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


FIG.  360.  —  Nipplewort 
(Lapsana  communis). 
Xi 


Nipplewort  is  nearly  related  to  Chicory, 
and,  like  that  plant,  is  used  as  a  salad  in 
its  European  home,  though  not  grown 
for  the  purpose  but  instead  considered  a 
troublesome  weed  in  cultivated  fields. 
(Fig.  360.) 

Stem  one  to  four  feet  high,  slender,  and 
much  branched,  smooth  above  but  bristly- 
hairy  near  the  base,  all  parts  of  the  plant 
containing  a  somewhat  bitter,  milky 
juice.  Lower  leaves  usually  lyrate,  the 
terminal  segment  being  very  large  with 
shallow-toothed  or  wavy  edge,  but  the 
lateral  lobes  very  small,  often  mere 
pointed  wings  to  the  petiole;  upper 
leaves  sessile  and  few,  usually  entire. 
Heads  very  numerous,  few-flowered,  each 
about  a  quarter-inch  broad,  composed 
all  of  perfect  and  fertile  golden  yellow 
ray  florets,  growing  in  loosely  branched 
clusters  on  very  slender  pedicels ;  invo- 
lucre cylindric,  formed  of  a  row  of  smooth 
linear  bracts  surrounded  at  base  by  a 
very  few  short  outer  ones.  Achenes  very 
small,  pale  brown,  and  without  a  pappus. 


Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production  by  cutting  closely  as  soon  as  the  first 
flowers  appear  and  repeating  the  treatment  as  the  plants  recover 
and  form  new  buds. 

LAMB   SUCCORY 
Arndseris  minima,  Dumort 

Other  English  names :   Hog's  Succory,  Dwarf  Nipplewort. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 

Seed-time:  July  to  September. 

Range:  Maine,  Ohio,  Michigan. 

Habitat:   Fields,  waste  places. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


525 


Not  a  common  plant  as  yet  in  this 
country,  and  but  a  few  years  ago  listed 
as  only  to  be  found  at  one  point  on  the 
coast,  a  "fugitive"  from  Europe.  It  is 
small,  with  a  fleshy  taproot  from  which 
spring  several  naked  stems,  three  inches 
to  a  foot  high,  sometimes  simple  but 
usually  branching  near  the  top,  full  of 
milky  and  bitter  juices,  thickened  and 
hollow  just  below  the  heads.  Leaves  all 
basal,  in  a  flattened  rosette,  two  to  four 
inches  long,  spatulate,  hairy,  coarsely  and 
sharply  toothed,  tapering  to  margined 
petioles.  Heads  yellow,  about  a  half-inch 
broad,  the  bracts  of  the  involucre  in  one 
series,  equal,  thickened,  narrow,  pointed, 
and  strongly  keeled,  lengthening  after 
flowering  and  curving  over  the  achenes, 
which  are  ovoid,  finely  ribbed,  and  with- 
out pappus.  (Fig.  361.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production  by  close  cut- 
ting  while  in  early  bloom.  x 


CHICORY 

Cichdrium  Intybus,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Succory,  Blue  Sailors,  Bunk. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  October. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range:   Nova  Scotia  to  Manitoba,  southward  to  North  Carolina, 

Missouri,  and  Nebraska. 
Habitat:   Fields,  meadows,  pastures,  roadsides,  city  vacant  lots. 

In  this  country  Chicory  is  "just  a  weed,"  and  a  very  persistent 
one,  but  in  Europe  it  is  cultivated  for  profit.  The  root-leaves  are 
used  as  forage  for  cattle  and  sheep,  and  are  blanched  and  used  as  a 


526  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

pot  herb  and  as  salad ;  several  thousand  tons  of  its  thick,  fleshy 
roots  are  dried  and  annually  exported  to  the  United  States  for  use 
as  a  substitute  for  coffee  or  as  an  adulterant,  many  persons  liking 
the  flavor  and  considering  the  admixture  to  be  not  only  more 
economical  than  pure  coffee  but  also  a  more  wholesome  beverage. 
Stems  two  to  four  feet  tall,  round,  hollow,  sparsely  hairy,  much 
branched,  changing  with  age  from 
green  to  purplish  red  and  becoming 
very  hard  and  woody.  Like  the 
two  preceding  and  all  the  following 
related  species,  its  juices  are  milky 
and  somewhat  bitter.  Root-leaves 
tufted,  spreading  on  the  ground,  four 
to  eight  inches  long,  spatulate  in 
outline  but  pinnatifid,  narrowing  into 
margined  petioles,  the  surface  rough, 
the  midrib  set  with  stiff  hairs  on  the 
under  side ;  stem-leaves  small,  usually 
entire,  clasping  and  auricled  at  base. 
Heads  one  to  four  together  in  sessile 
clusters  on  the  nearly  naked  branches  ; 
but  one  in  each  cluster  is  open  at  one 
time,  only  in  bright  sunshine  and  is 
usually  closed  again  by  noon ;  heads 
an  inch  or  more  broad,  deep  sky- 
blue,  the  rays  five-toothed  at  the 

FIG.  362. -Chicory  (Cichorium  ***'•.  bracts  of  the  involucre  green, 
Intybus).    x  i  the  inner  row  erect,   the  outer  one 

short  and  spreading.     Achenes  brown, 

five-ribbed,  crowned  with  a  row  of  pointed  scales ;  they  are  a 
frequent  impurity  of  grass  and  clover  seed.     (Fig.  362.) 

Means  of  control 

Deep  cutting,  below  the  crown,  with  spud  or  hoe  will  usually 
kill  Chicory.  Or  it  may  be  grubbed  out,  or  hand-pulled  when 
the  ground  is  sufficiently  soft  to  yield  its  hold  on  the  long,  fleshy 
taproot. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


527 


DWARF  DANDELION 

Krigia  virginica,  Willd. 
(Adopbgon  carolinianum,  Britton) 

Native.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   April  to  August. 
-Seed-time:    May  to  September. 
Range:    Maine  to  Ontario  and  Minnesota,  southward  to  Florida 

and  Texas. 
Habitat :   Dry,  sandy  soil ;   fields,  meadows,  and  waste  places. 


Like  a  small  and  delicate  Dandelion, 
with  several  slender  stems  from  the  same 
root,  one  or  two  inches  to  a  foot  in 
height,  simple  or  occasionally  branched 
at  the  base.  Leaves  usually  all  basal, 
tufted,  two  to  six  inches  long,  spatulate  or 
lance-shaped,  irregularly  cut  and  toothed, 
or  sometimes  entire,  tapering  to  margined 
petioles.  Heads  about  a  half-inch  broad, 
with  yellow,  spreading,  five-toothed  rays ; 
bracts  of  the  involucre  linear  and  thin, 
becoming  reflexed  as  the  achenes  ripen 
and  fall.  The  latter  are  slenderly  top- 
shaped,  five-angled,  with  a  pappus  of  five 
small,  rounded  scales  encircling  an  inner 
row  of  fine  bristles.  (Fig.  363.) 


Means  of  control  FIG   363  _  Dwarf  Dan. 

Prevent    seed    production    by   cutting  ^elion    (Krigia    virginica) . 
while  in  early  bloom.     Enrich  and  cul- 
tivate the  ground,  when  better  plants  will  soon  supersede   the 
weed. 

CYNTHIA 

Krigia  amplexicaulis,  Nutt. 
(Adopbgon  virginicum,  Kuntze.) 

Other  English  name :  Virginia  Goatsbeard. 
Native.     Perennial,     Propagates  by  seeds. 


KOQ 

OZO 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


Time  of  bloom :  May  to  September. 

Seed-time:  June  to  October. 

Range:    Massachusetts  to  Ontario  and  Manitoba,  southward  to 

Georgia  and  Kansas. 
Habitat:   Meadows,  open  woods,  waste  places. 

The  roots  of  Cynthia  are  fibrous, 
clustered,  and  spreading,  the  stems  one 
to  two  feet  in  height,  smooth  and 
naked,  except  that  above  the  middle 
there  is  usually  an  oblong,  clasping  leaf 
—  occasionally  two,  or  three  —  above 
which  may  spring  one  or  more  branches. 
Root  leaves  tufted,  smooth,  glaucous, 
three  to  six  inches  or  more  long,  with 
edges  toothed  or  wavy,  rarely  pinnatifid, 
the  petioles  long  and  winged.  Heads 
solitary,  terminating  stem  and  branches, 
more  than  an  inch  broad,  with  about 
twenty  bright  orange-yellow  rays,  toothed 
at  tips ;  involucre  of  smooth,  thin,  lance- 
shaped  bracts,  all  of  the  same  length. 
Achenes  nearly  oblong,  with  a  pappus  of 
ten  to  fifteen  oblong,  chaffy  scales  sur- 
rounding an  inner  row  of  fifteen  to 
twenty  delicate  bristles.  (Fig.  364.) 

Means  of  control 

Meadows  where  the  plant  is  abun- 
dant should  be  put  to  a  cultivated  crop, 

FIG.  364.-  Cynthia  (Krigia    wel1  tilled>  and  fertilized,  before  reseed- 
amplexicaulis).     X  J.  ing. 


GOSMORE 

Hypochaeris  radicata,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Long-rooted  Cat's-ear,  Flatweed. 
Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   May  to  October. 
Seed-time:   June  to  November. 


COMPOSITAE   (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  529 

Range :   Ontario  and  Massachusetts  to  southern  New  Jersey  ;     also 

on  the  Pacific  Coast.     An  immigrant  from  Europe. 
Habitat:   Gardens,  lawns,  fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 


Root  very  long,  thick,  and  fleshy ;  from  its  crown  rise  several 
smooth,  slender  stems,  one  to  two  feet  tall,  usually  branched  but 
sometimes  simple,  naked  except  for  a 
few  scale-like  bracts.  Leaves  all 
basal,  three  to  ten  inches  long, 
spreading  flat  on  the  ground  in  a 
large  tuft  or  rosette;  they  are 
broadly  lance-shaped  to  obovate  in 
outline,  deeply  cut  and  lobed,  with 
terminal  segment  large  and  lateral 
ones  turned  backward  (runcinate), 
covered  on  both  sides  with  spread- 
ing hairs.  Heads  about  an  inch 
broad,  yellow,  with  many  slender 
rays,  toothed  at  their  tips,  which  are 
inclined  to  twist  together  as  the 
blossom  withers  and  recloses.  In- 
volucre nearly  cylindric,  its  bracts 
imbricated  in  several  series,  smooth, 
appressed,  pointed,  the  outer  rows 
successively  shorter.  Achenes  spin- 
dle-shaped, ten-ribbed,  rough,  con- 
tracting to  a  slender  beak  longer 
than  the  body;  pappus  a  row  of 
very  plumose  bristles.  (Fig.  365.) 

Means  of  control  Fl°-  365-  —  Gosmore  (Hypochcu- 

ris  radicata).     X  «. 

Where  well  established  the  Gos- 
more is  nearly  as  persistent  as  the  Dandelion.  In  cultivated 
ground  the  perennial  roots  are  destroyed  by  the  plow  and 
subsequent  tillage  of  crops.  Pigs  are  very  fond  of  the  long, 
fleshy  roots,  and  badly  infested  areas  may  be  profitably 
cleaned  out  by  turning  in  a  few  of  those  animals.  In  lawns 
the  rosettes  may  be  spudded  off,  the  cut  surfaces  being  treated 

2.M 


530  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

with  a  liberal  pinch  of  salt  or  a  few  drops  of  carbolic  acid.  Plants 
of  roadsides  and  waste  places  should  be  grubbed  out»  or  so  fre- 
quently cut  as  to  prevent  seed  development  and  distribution  to  the 
damage  of  adjacent  property. 

FALL  DANDELION 
Ledntodon  autumnalis,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Autumn  Hawkbit,  August  Flower,  Arnica, 

Lion's-tooth. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 
Time  of  bloom :   Late  June  to  October. 
Seed-time:   August  to  November. 
Range :  Newfoundland  to  western  Ontario  and  Michigan,  southward 

to  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio. 
Habitat:   Fields,  meadows,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

Before  flowering  this  plant  looks  very  like  the  common  Dandelion, 
the  long,  smooth,  or  slightly  hairy  tufted  leaves  having  similar  back- 
ward turned,  sharp-pointed  lobes  or 
"lion's  teeth."  But  instead  of  a 
taproot  it  has  short,  thick  rootstocks, 
each  of  which  may  send  up  a  tuft  of 
leaves  and  a  flowering  stalk ;  so  that 
the  weed  tends  to  grow  in  patches 
and  rapidly  chokes  out  the  grass  in 
lawns  and  meadows. 

Stems  six  inches  to  two  feet  tall, 
smooth,  slender,  branching,  thick- 
ened at  summit,  with  small,  pointed, 
scale-like  leaves.  Heads  with  many 
tooth-tipped  bright  yellow  rays,  more 
than  an  inch  broad,  growing  singly 
at  the  ends  of  the  slim,  naked 
branches.  Achenes  brown,  nearly  a 
quarter-inch  long,  ridged  lengthwise, 
not  beaked  like  the  Dandelion,  but 
having  a  yellowish  white  pappus  of 
FIG.  366. —  Fall  Dandelion  one  funnel-shaped  row  of  plume- 
(Leontodon  autumnalis).  X  i  like  bristles.  (Fig.  366.) 


COMPOS1TAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  531 

Means  of  control 

The  rootstocks  are  shallow  and  horizontal  in  their  growth,  and 
plowing  the  rankly  infested  pasture  or  meadow  kills  them  in  one 
season  as  they  decay  with  the  sod.  Small  areas  may  be  removed  by 
deep  hoe-cutting.  Flowering  stalks  should  be  cut  in  their  first 
bloom,  in  order  that  none  of  the  plumed  achenes  may  be  dispersed 
by  the  wind. 

BRISTLY   OX-TONGUE 
Pirns  echrtdes,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Bugloss  Picris,  Bitter  Bugloss. 

Introduced.     Annual  or  biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:  Locally  distributed  in  Nova 
Scotia  and  Ontario  and  near  the  sea- 
ports of  the  Atlantic  States ;  has 
reached  as  far  inland  as  Ohio. 

Habitat:    Fields,   roadsides,   and   waste 


The  achenes  of  this  plant  have  been 
reported  as  an  impurity  in  alfalfa  seeds ; 
it  is  a  very  unpleasant  weed,  rejected 
by  grazing  animals  because  of  its  bitter 
juices  and  prickly-hairy  foliage,  and  it 
should,  if  possible,  be  hindered  from 
extending  its  range. 

Stems  fifteen  to  thirty  inches  tall, 
branched,  and  closely  set  with  stiff, 
prickly  bristles.  Lower  and  basal  leaves 
large,  spatulate,  irregularly  toothed, 
narrowed  to  margined  petioles ;  stem- 
leaves  much  smaller,  usually  entire, 
sessile  and  clasping.  Heads  yellow,  in 
spreading  corymbose  panicles,  on  short 
peduncles,  each  about  a  half-inch  broad, 
the  outer  bracts  of  the  involucre  very 
large  and  leaf-like,  prickly-hairy,  the 
inner  ones  membranous,  narrow  and  x  1. 


532  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

pointed.  Achenes  reddish  brown,  long-beaked  like  those  of  the 
Dandelion,  with  a  very  plumose  pappus  to  help  in  their  distribu- 
tion. (Fig.  367.) 

Means  of  control 

Deep  cutting  with  hoe  or  spud  while  in  first  flower,  making  certain 
that  no  seed  is  allowed  to  mature. 


MEADOW   SALSIFY 
Tragopogon  pratensis,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Yellow  Goat's  Beard, 
Buck's  Beard,  Morning  Sun,  Noon-flower, 
Nap-at-noon,  Go-to-bed-at-nopn. 

Introduced.  Biennial  or  perennial.  Propa- 
gates by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range :  New  Brunswick  to  Manitoba,  south- 
ward to  New  Jersey,  Ohio,  and  Michigan. 

Habitat:  Fields,  meadows,  roadsides,  and 
waste  places. 

This  plant  springs  from  a  slender,  deep- 
boring  taproot,  somewhat  fleshy.  Stem 
one  to  three  feet  tall,  round,  smooth,  light 
green,  slender,  usually  with  several  branches, 
held  very  erect.  Leaves  alternate,  linear, 
keeled,  clasping  at  base,  and  with  long- 
pointed  tips ;  the  lowermost  perhaps  a  foot 
long,  the  topmost  not  exceeding  two  inches  ; 
at  maturity  the  edges  of  the  leaves  become 
in\olute  and  tips  curve  inward.  Grazing 
animals  dislike  its  bitter,  milky  juice,  and 
usually  leave  it  unmolested  to  reproduce 
itself.  .  Heads  solitary,  terminal,  golden 
yellow,  nearly  two  inches  broad,  the  rays 

five-notched  at  the   tip,  with   the  pointed 
FIG.    368.  —  Meadow   ,  .,    ,      .        .  .          .      . 

Salsify  (Tragopogon  pra-  bracts  of  the  involucre  in  a  single  row,  united 
term's),    x  i.  at  base  and  about  as  long  as  the  rays;  the 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  533 

flowers  open  at  sunrise  and  are  closed  again  by  noon.  Achenes 
about  a  third  of  an  inch  in  length,  rough-ribbed,  tipped  with  a 
wire-like  beak,  the  pappus  a  funnel-formed  parachute  of  tawny, 
plumose  bristles  with  downy  interlacing  branches.  (Fig.  368.) 

Means  of  control 

Destroy  by  grubbing  or  hand-pulling  when  the  ground  is  soft. 
In  view  of  the  fact  that  its  buoyant  seeds  travel  widely  and  that 
the  plant  is  perennial  if  undisturbed,  it  will  pay  to  take  some  trouble 
for  its  extermination.  Land  badly  infested  should  be  broken  up 
and  put  under  cultivation. 

OYSTER   PLANT 
Tragopbgon  porrifdlius,  L. 

Other  English  names:  Vegetable  Oyster,  Garden  Salsify,  Purple 
Goat's  Beard,  Joseph's  Flower,  Noon-plant,  Jerusalem  Star. 

Introduced.     Biennial  or  perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range :  Ontario  to  Minnesota  and  Nebraska,  southward  to  Georgia  ; 
also  naturalized  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 

Habitat:   Fields,  meadows,  and  waste  places. 

An  escape  from  gardens  where  it  has  been  cultivated  for  the 
fleshy,  edible  taproot,  which,  when  cooked,  has  a  flavor  somewhat 
like  oysters.  Larger  than  the  preceding  species,  with  stems  two  to 
four  feet  tall,  broader  leaves,  the  peduncles  dilated  and  hollowed 
for  a  space  of  two  or  three  inches  below  the  heads,  which  are  purple, 
often  three  inches  broad,  the  long,  green  points  of  the  involucral 
bracts  extending  for  about  half  their  length  beyond  the  rays,  making 
an  eight-  to  ten-pointed  green  star  with  a  purple  center,  whence  the 
name  "Jerusalem  Star."  Achenes  brown,  fully  a  half-inch  in 
length,  ridged,  and  tubercled,  the  slender  beak  about  an  inch  long, 
the  tawny,  funnel -formed,  inter- webbed  pappus  nearly  equal  in 
length.  The  size  and  weight  of  the  seeds  of  both  this  and  the 
preceding  species  make  them  very  readily  removable  when  they 
appear  as  an  impurity  among  other  seeds. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  preceding  species. 


534 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


GUM   SUCCORY 

Chondrilla  juncea,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Skeleton  Weed,  Naked  Weed. 

Introduced.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seed. 

Time  of  bloom :  Blossoms  most  abundantly  in  July  and  August,  but 

produces  scattering  flowers  until  late  autumn. 
Seed-time:  August  until  frost-killed. 

Range:   Middle  Atlantic  States  and  inland  to  West  Virginia. 
Habitat :   Dry  fields,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

First-year  tufts  of  the  large,  pinnatifid 
root-leaves  of  this  weed  resemble  those 
of  the  Dandelion  very  much  and  might 
be  mistaken  for  them;  it  has  also  a 
similar  long,  fleshy  taproot,.  But  the 
fruiting  stalks,  which  appear  in  the 
second  year,  are  one  to  three  feet  high, 
very  slender,  round,  rigid,  bare  except 
for  a  few  scattering  stem-leaves  so  nar- 
row and  small  as  to  seem  mere  awl-like 
bracts,  smooth  except  that  below  the 
many  branches  the  stem  bristles  with 
small,  fine  prickles.  Heads  yellow,  less 
than  a  half-inch  broad,  on  short  pedun- 
cles; they  terminate  the  branches  in 
groups  of  two  or  three,  and  also  grow 
singly  and  sessile  on  the  sides  of  the 
nearly  naked  branches.  Achene  nearly 
black,  usually  five-ribbed,  prickly  at  the 
top,  with  a  slender  beak  about  as  long  as 
the  seed;  the  pappus  attached  to  it  is 
copious,  fine,  and  shining  white.  (Fig. 
369.) 


FIG.    369.  —  Gum    Succory 
(Chondrilla  juncea) .     X  J. 


Means  of  control 

Hoe-cutting  or  spudding  off  the  crowns 

of  first-year  plants ;  deep  cutting  of  fruiting  stems  before  any 
seed  matures.  In  cultivated  ground  the  weeds  are  destroyed  by 
the  necessary  tillage. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


535 


DANDELION 

Taraxacum  officindle,  Weber 

Other  English  names:  Blowball,  Cankerwort,  Doon-head-clock, 
Yellow  Gowan,  Witch's  Gowan,  Milk  Witch. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:  All  months  in  the  year,  where  the  weather  is  not  at 
freezing  point.  Most  abundant  in  spring. 

Seed-time :  Seeds  ready  for  dispersal  within  two  weeks  from  the  un- 
folding of  the  flower. 

Range :   Cosmopolitan. 

Habitat:   Fields,  meadows,  lawns,  waste  places. 

Wherever  civilized  man  has  established  himself  and  cultivated  the 
ground,  he  has  carried  and  sown  this  weed,  and,  once  in  the  soil,  the 
Dandelion  can  be  depended  on  to  hold  it. 
Drought  does  not  affect  it,  the  root  being 
large,  thick,  fleshy,  driven  deeply  into  the 
soil,  sometimes  to  a  length  of  twenty 
inches ;  and  cutting  the  crowns  from  the 
roots  will  not  kill  this  weed  as  it  does 
many  taprooted  plants ;  indeed,  any  part  of 
a  root  will  sprout  leaves  and  make  a  new 
plant  if  buried  in  warm,  moist  soil.  All 
parts  of  the  plant  are  protected  by  bitter, 
milky  juices  which  animals  usually  dislike, 
so  that  even  in  pastures  it  often  thrives 
and  reproduces  itself  unharmed. 

Leaves  basal,  three  inches  to  more  than 
a  foot  long,  blunt  lance-shaped  in  outline 
but  deeply  and  irregularly  lobed  and 
toothed,  the  divisions  usually  pointing 
toward  the  base,  somewhat  hairy  when 
young  but  soon  becoming  smooth,  spread- 
ing on  the  ground  in  a  flat  rosette ;  petioles 
margined  and  short.  Scapes  smooth, 
hollow,  cylindrical,  short  at  first  but 
lengthening  with  maturity.  Flower-heads 
often  nearly  two  inches  broad,  deep  golden  yellow,  opening  only 
in  fair  weather,  and  closing  and  reopening  several  times  before 


FIG.  370.  —  Dandelion 
(Taraxacum  officinale). 
XJ. 


536  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

the  whole  colony  is  fertilized  to  the  center ;  florets  all  perfect  and 
fertile,  the  rays  five-toothed  at  their  tips  ;  bracts  of  the  involucre  in 
two  series,  the  outer  ones  short,  spreading,  often  reflexed  at  matur- 
ity, the  inner  ones  smooth,  linear,  erect  in  a  single  row,  long  enough 
to  enfold  the  flowers  after  their  first  opening.  Achenes  brown, 
oblong,  angled,  and  ridged,  set  around  the  top  with  fine,  spinous 
tubercles,  the  tip  extending  in  a  slender  beak,  bearing  a  copious 
pappus  of  fine,  white  hairs.  (Fig.  369.) 

Young  Dandelion  plants  are  excellent  salad  and  pot  herbs ;  the 
roots  are  used  in  medicine  and  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  pounds 
are  imported  annually,  notwithstanding  the  abundant  home-grown 
product.  The  time  for  collection  is  in  autumn  when  the  roots  are 
well  stored  with  sustenance  for  the  next  season's  growth,  at  which 
time  the  milky  juice  is  thickest  and  the  root  most  bitter.  The  price 
is  four  to  ten  cents  a  pound. 

Means  of  control 

One  method,  and  usually  the  one  practiced  in  small  lawns  and 
often  in  large  public  parks,  is  the  diligent,  persistent  use  of  spud  or 
knife,  cutting  below  the  ground.  The  plants  sprout  again,  and  have 
to  be  cut  again,  but  if  no  leaf-growth  is  allowed  to  feed  the  roots 
even  old  ones  must  finally  starve.  A  pinch  of  dry  salt  applied  to 
the  root  at  the  time  of  cutting  off  the  crown,  will  retard  recovery. 
But  winged  weeds  are  constantly  "blowing  in"  to  replant  the 
ground,  and  seedling  Dandelions,  with  taproots  still  short  and 
slender  and  leaves  finely  hairy,  may  be  killed  with  chemical  sprays ; 
old  plants  with  long,  well-filled  roots  and  smooth  leaves  are  not 
much  if  at  all  affected.  But  if  lawns  and  parking  are  systemati- 
cally sprayed  throughout  the  growing  season  with  Copper  sulfate 
or  Iron  sulfate,  the  grass  will  not  be  injured,  seedling  Dandelions 
will  be  destroyed,  and  the  hairy,  opening  buds  of  old  plants  will 
be  injured  sufficiently  to  check  development  of  seeds.  Too  often 
it  is  forgotten  that  the  plants  of  roadside  and  waste  places  must 
not  be  neglected,  even  though  growing  at  some  distance,  if 
property-owners  expect  any  degree  of  success  in  keeping  out  the 
intruder.  "Everlastingly  keep  at  it"  must  be  the  motto  of  one 
who  fights  this  weed. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  537 

RED-SEEDED   DANDELION 

Taraxacum  erythrospermum,  Andrz. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   April  to  June. 

Seed-lime:    May  to  July. 

Range:  Maine  to  Virginia,  westward  to  Michigan  and  Illinois. 

Habitat:    Lawns,  grasslands,  waste  places. 

Smaller  than  the  preceding  species,  the  leaves  very  slender, 
deeply  pinnatifid,  the  backward-turning  lobes  very  narrow  and 
acute.  Flower-heads  about  an  inch  broad,  sulfur  yellow,  the 
outer  row  of  rays  purple  on  the  under  side ;  bracts  of  the  involucre 
glaucous,  the  outer  ones  lance-shaped,  spreading  or  ascending,  the 
inner  row  linear  and  usually  with  a  small  horny  appendage  just 
below  the  tips.  Achenes  bright  brownish  red,  the  upper  part  very 
spinulose,  the  beak  less  than  twice  the  length  of  the  achene ;  pap- 
pus grayish  white,  very  fine. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  Common  Dandelion. 

FIELD   SOW   THISTLE 
Sdnchus  arvensis,  L. 

Other  English  names:    Creeping  Sow  Thistle,   Corn  Sow  Thistle, 

Milk  Thistle,  Swine  Thistle,  Gutweed. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  rootstocks. 
Time  of  bloom :  June  to  August. 
Seed-time:   July  to  September. 
Range:    Newfoundland  and  Nova  Scotia  to  Manitoba  and   the 

Dakotas,  southward  to  New  Jersey  and  Illinois. 
Habitat:   Grain  fields,  cultivated  crops,  roadsides,  waste  places. 

A  most  noxious  weed  because  of  the  creeping,  horizontal  root- 
stocks  extending  in  all  directions  and  putting  forth  new  plants  and 
roots  at  the  joints ;  these  rootstocks  are  rather  thick,  yellowish 
white,  and,  like  all  the  rest  of  the  plant,  filled  with  a  milky  and 
bitter  juice.  Stems  two  to  four  feet  tall,  stout,  smooth,  finely 
grooved,  hollow  between  joints.  Leaves  pinnatifid,  the  terminal 
lobe  large,  pointed,  the  lateral  lobes  turned  backward  and  decreas- 
ing in  size  toward  the  base ;  the  lower  and  basal  leaves  narrowing 
to  margined  petioles,  the  upper  ones  sessile  and  clasping  by  a  heart- 


538  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

shaped  base,  all  dark  green,  waxy-smooth,  toothed  with  weak 
spines.  Heads  in  large  corymbose  clusters,  deep  yellow,  nearly 
two  inches  broad,  the  long  rays  five- 
toothed,  the  bracts  of  the  involucre 
and  the  pedicels  usually  set  with  stiff, 
glandular  hairs,  though  in  some  locali- 
ties a  smooth  and  glaucous  variety  is 
common.  Achene  brown,  about  an 
eighth  of  an  inch  long,  compressed, 
with  wrinkled  lengthwise  ridges,  and 
tufted  with  very  copious,  fine,  white 
pappus.  (Fig.  371.) 


Means  of  control 

Short   rotations   of   hoed   crops,  re- 
ceiving very  frequent,  thorough,   and 
late  tillage,  are  necessary  in  order  to 
clear  the  ground  of  this  weed.     It  is 
not  harmed  by  any  spray.     Horse  cul- 
tivation serves  only  to  break  and  spread 
the  rootstocks.     Complete   prevention 
FIG.  371.  —  Field  Sow  Thistle    of  food-assimilating  green  growth  above 
(Sonchus  arvensis).    x  J.       ground  is  the  only  sure  remedy. 

COMMON   SOW  THISTLE 
Sdnchus  oleraceus,  L. 

Other  English  names :  Hare's  Lettuce,  Colewort,  Milk  Thistle. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range:   Throughout  North  America  except  the  far  North. 

Habitat:   Fields,  roadsides,  waste  places. 

In  Europe  this  plant  is  used  as  a  pot  herb,  as  its  specific  name, 
oleraceus,  indicates,  and  is  kept  succulent  by  the  constant  pinching 
out  of  its  buds.  It  springs  from  a  white  taproot,  well  fringed  with 
feeding  rootlets,  the  stem  one  to  six  feet  tall,  angled,  branching, 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


539 


smooth,  green,  hollow  between  nodes,  filled  with  milky  juice.  Leaves 
lyrate-pinnatifid,  the  terminal  lobe  large  and  triangular,  the  others 
narrow  and  decreasing  in  size  toward 
the  base;  the  lower  and  basal  leaves 
petioled,  but  those  on  the  stem  clasping 
with  an  auricled  and  pointed  base ;  the 
margins  toothed  with  small,  weak 
spines.  Heads  in  crowded  cymose 
panicles,  yellow,  nearly  an  inch  broad ; 
the  involucres  are  downy  while  they 
enclose  the  buds,  but  later  become 
smooth.  Achenes  brown,  slightly  flat- 
tened, with  roughened  ribs  and  thickly 
tufted,  white,  silken  pappus.  (Fig. 
372.) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  development.     In  gar- 
dens and  other  small  areas,  hand-pull 
before  the  first  flowers  mature.     Stub- 
bles   should    have    surface   cultivation 
after  harvest  for  the  purpose  of  stirring 
into  life  such  seeds  as  are  on  the  ground,     A  *' 
the  seedlings  to  be  turned  under  at  fall  plowing.     Waste  places 
and  roadsides  are  too  often  permitted  to  mature  seeds,  to  the 
damage  of  adjacent  ground. 


FIG.  372.  —  Common  Sow 
Thistle    (Sonchus    oleraceus) . 


SPINY-LEAVED   SOW  THISTLE 
Sdnchus  dsper,  Hill 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :   May  to  October. 
Seed-time:   June  to  November. 
Range:  All  cultivated  parts  of  the  world. 
Habitat:   Fields,  roadsides,  waste  places. 

More  prickly  than  the  preceding  species ;  the  spines,  though  weak 
compared  with  those  of  true  thistles,  can  make  themselves  felt 
when  touched,  while  those  of  the  Hare's  Lettuce  are  too  soft  to  pene- 


540 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


trate  the  skin.  Stems  one  to  six  feet 
high,  smooth,  angled,  branching,  full  of 
milky  sap.  Lower  leaves  sometimes 
pinnatifid  but  usually  undivided  and 
spatulate,  tapering  to  margined  petioles ; 
stem-leaves  oblong  or  lance-shaped, 
clasping  the  stem  with  rounded  auri- 
cles, the  margins  prickly-toothed,  the 
surfaces  dark  green,  smooth,  and  shin- 
ing. Heads  similar  to  those  of  the 
Common  Sow  Thistle.  Achenes  oblong, 
compressed,  margined,  with  smooth  ribs. 
(Fig.  373.) 

Means    of   control    the   same   as   for 
Common  Sow  Thistle. 

PRICKLY  LETTUCE 

Lactuca  scarwla,  L. 
Var.  integrata,  Gren.  &  Godr. 

Other  English  names:    Compass  Plant, 

Milk  Thistle,  English  Thistle. 
Introduced.    Annual  and  winter  annual. 

Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  July  to  October. 
Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range:  Massachusetts  to  Georgia  and  Tennessee,  westward  to  the 
Missouri  River ;   also  in  Idaho,  Oregon,  and  Washington.     Most 
abundant  in  the  Ohio  Valley  and  in  the  states  bordering  on  the 
Great  Lakes. 
Habitat :   All  soils ;   invades  all  crops. 

A  noxious  weed  that  owes  its  wide  range  almost  entirely  to  the 
agency  of  impure  seed.  It  first  appeared  in  Massachusetts  not 
many  years  ago,  and  has  since  journeyed  from  ocean  to  ocean  and 
could  probably  be  found  now  in  every  state  in  the  Union.  In 
addition  to  its  robbery  of  the  crop  in  grain  fields,  the  hard  stems  dull 
the  reaping  knives,  and  the  copious,  milky  juice  makes  the  weed 
very  troublesome  in  threshing  machines  when  handling  a  crop  im- 
mediately after  the  reaping,  without  drying  in  the  shock,  as  is 
frequently  done  in  the  "West. 


FIG.    373.  —  Spiny-leaved 
Sow  Thistle  (Sonchus  asper). 


COMPOS1TAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


541 


Stem  erect,  with  short  lateral  branches,  round,  smooth  except 
for  a  few  prickles  near  the  base,  sometimes  attaining  a  height  of 
seven  feet  but  usually  two  to  five  feet  tall ;  occasionally  it  has  a 
purplish  tinge.  Leaves  alternate,  light  green,  oblong,  variable,  often 
obtuse  at  tips  but  sometimes  acute,  with  wavy,  prickly-toothed 


Fio.     374.  —  Prickly     Lettuce 
(Lactuca   scariola,   var.   integrata). 


FIQ.  375.  —  True  Prickly 
Lettuce   (Lactuca   scariola). 

xi 


edges  and  thick,  whitish  green  midrib,  closely  set  with  spines  on 
the  under  side,  sessile,  clasping,  auricled  at  base.  Leaves  of  plants 
growing  in  the  open  have  a  vertical  twist  at  the  base  which  causes 
their  edges  to  point  north  and  south ;  plants  growing  in  the  shade 
have  not  this  twist  to  the  leaves.  Heads  numerous,  in  a  large 


542  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

panicle  at  the  summit  of  the  stalk  and  on  short  axillary  branches ; 
pale  yellow,  each  less  than  a.  half-inch  broad,  on  very  short 
pedicels ;  beginning  at  the  top,  they  open  a  few  at  a  time,  daily. 
Achenes  brown,  ridged  lengthwise,  with  thread-like  beak  and 
pappus  of  fine,  white,  silken  hair.  (Fig.  374.) 

Not  quite  so  obnoxious  nor  so  common  as  the  variety  just  de- 
scribed, but  still  a  very  bad  weed,  is  the  True  Prickly  Lettuce  (L. 
scariola,  L.)  differing  chiefly  in  that  its  prickly  ribbed  leaves  are 
lobed  or  pinnatifid,  and  the  smooth  or  sparsely  prickled  woody 
stalk  usually  taller ;  the  heads  are  similar  but  slightly  smaller,  very 
numerous.  The  plant  ranges  from  New  England  and  Pennsylvania 
westward  to  Michigan  and  Missouri.  (Fig.  375.) 

Means  of  control 

Deep  cutting  of  the  tufted  root-leaves,  well  below  the  crown, 
with  hoe  or  spud ;  cutting  of  flowering  stalks  at  the  beginning  of 
bloom  or  earlier.  In  a  grain  field,  hand-pulling  of  the  young 
flower-stalks  before  bloom  will  be  a  paying  operation,  as  the  crop 
will  not  be  worth  much  if  the  weed  is  allowed  to  absorb  the  fertility 
and  moisture  of  the  soil.  Rankly  infested  ground  should  be  put 
under  cultivation  for  the  purpose  of  stirring  dormant  seed  into  life 
and  destroying  the  seedlings.  Sheep  and  young  cattle  graze  the 
young  plants  freely  and  prove  good  assistants  in  keeping  the  weed 
in  check,  but  milch  cows  must  not  have  much  of  it  as  the  juices 
are  bitter  and  will  taint  the  milk.  Seeds  are  widely  wind-sown,  and 
it  is  to  the  interest  of  the  entire  community  to  see  that  none  are 
allowed  to  mature  in  roadsides  and  waste  places. 

WILD   LETTUCE 
Lactuca  canadensis,  L. 


Other  English  names:  Wild  Opium,  Horseweed,  Trumpet  Milkweed. 
^Native.     Annual  and  winter  annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom :  June  to  October. 
Seed-time:  July  to  November. 
Range:    Nova* Scotia  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  southward  to 

Georgia,  Alabama,  Louisiana,  and  Arkansas. 
Habitat:   Fields,  meadows,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


543 


In  rich,  moist  soil  this  weed  sometimes 
attains  a  height  of  ten  feet,  but  is  more 
often  three  to  six  feet  tall,.  Stem  slender, 
smooth,  often  glaucous,  sometimes  of  a 
purplish  tinge  but  most  commonly  deep 
green.  Lower  and  basal  leaves  lance- 
shaped  in  outline  but  deeply  and  irregu- 
larly lobed,  the  terminal  segment  large 
and  acutely  pointed,  the  lateral  ones  un- 
equal in  number  and  size,  not  opposite, 
and  frequently  with  points  turned  back- 
ward, narrowing  to  margined  petioles ; 
upper  leaves  much  smaller,  often  entire 
and  sessile".  Heads  numerous,  in  a  loosely 
branching  terminal  panicle  and  in  short 
axillary  clusters ;  heads  yellow,  hardly 
more  than  a  quarter-inch  broad,  the  in- 
volucre cylindric,  its  inner  row  of  bracts 
linear,  the  outer  ones  short  and  spreading. 
Achenes  oblong-oval,  tipped  with  a  slen- 
der beak;  pappus  white,  very  fine  and 
silky.  The  plant  has  a  strong,  unpleasant 
odor  resembling  opium,  and,  though  cattle 
and  sheep  eat  it  readily,  it  will  damage 
dairy  products  if  milch  cows  get  much  of 
it.  (Fig.  376.) 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for 
Prickly  Lettuce. 


FIG.  376.  — Wild  Let- 
tuce (Lactuca  canadensis). 
XJ. 


ARROW-LEAVED   WILD   LETTUCE 

Lactuca  sagittifblia,  Ellis 

Other  English  names:   Devil's  Ironweed,  Horseweed. 

Native.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range:   New  Brunswick  and  Ontario  to  Georgia,  westward  to  the 

Rocky  Mountains. 
Habitat :  Dry,  open  soil ;  fields,  meadows,  waste  places. 


544 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


Stem  rather  stout,  smooth,  two  to  six 
feet  high,  leafy  to  the  flowering  panicle. 
Leaves  oblong-lance-shaped,  smooth,  some- 
what thick,  entire  or  the  lower  ones  with 
a  few  shallow  teeth,  sometimes  spinulose 
on  the  margins,  those  of  the  stem  sessile, 
clasping,  and  auricled  at  base.  Heads  in 
a  long,  loosely  branched,  terminal  panicle 
and  in  smaller  axillary  clusters ;  each  about 
a  quarter-inch  broad,  on  slender  pedicels, 
the  rays  reddish  yellow;  involucre  cylin- 
dric,  the  outer  bracts  much  shorter  than 
the  inner  ones.  Achenes  oblong,  flat- 
tened, shorter  than  the  slender  beak. 
Pappus  fine  and  white.  (Fig.  377.) 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Prickly 
Lettuce. 

BLUE   LETTUCE 
Lactuca  pulchella;  DC. 

Other    English    names:     Showy    Lettuce, 

Large-flowered  Blue  Lettuce. 
Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds 

and  by  rootstocks. 
Time  of  bloom :  June  to  August. 
Seed-time:   July  to  September. 
Range:    Western   Ontario   to   the  North- 
west Territory  and  British  Columbia,  southward  to  Michigan, 
Kansas,  New  Mexico,  and  California. 
Habitat :  All  crops ;  most  injurious  in  grain  fields  and  meadows. 


FIG.  377.  —  Arrow- 
leaved  Wild  Lettuce  (Lac- 
tuca sagi Uifolia) .  X  }. 


A  very  handsome  plant,  but  one  of  the  most  obnoxious  weeds  of 
its  family  and  very  hard  to  suppress.  Stem  slender,  round,  smooth, 
two  to  three  feet  tall.  Leaves  exceedingly  variable,  oblong  to 
lance-shaped  in  outline,  but  the  lower  ones  deeply  cut  or  pinnatifid, 
with  segments  turned  backward  and  often  having  margined 
petioles ;  upper  ones  sessile  and  partly  clasping,  slightly  toothed  or 
entire,  becoming  linear  near  the  top ;  all  smooth  and  glaucous. 
The  whole  plant,  even  to  its  fleshy,  light-colored  rootstocks,  is 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  545 

filled  with  bitter,  milky  juice.  Heads  in  open 
racemes,  lifted  on  rather  long,  scaly-bracted 
peduncles ;  they  are  about  an  inch  broad,  with 
numerous  light  blue  rays,  toothed  at  the  tips ; 
bracts  of  the  involucre  imbricated  in  three  or 
four  rows,  the  inner  ones  lance-shaped,  the  outer 
ones  shortening  to  pointed  ovate.  Achenes 
flattened  club-shaped,  with  ridged  margins  and 
finely  grooved  sides,  tapering  to  a  short,  stiff 
beak  tipped  with  a  cup-like  disk  to  which  is  at- 
tached a  copious,  silky,  white  pappus  which 
enables  the  winds  to  sow  the  seed  very  widely. 
(Fig.  378.) 

Means  of  control 

On  the  first  appearance  in  any  locality,  it  will 
pay  to  hand-pull  or  dig  out  the  plants  before 
seed  production  and  before  the  rootstocks  have 
penetrated  far  into  the  soil.  Established  root- 
stocks  should  be  starved  by  persistent  close 
cutting  of  all  leaf-growth  throughout  the  growing 
season.  Where  the  land  is  badly  infested, 
short  rotations  of  cultivated  crops  —  with  very  F  _ 

thorough  tillage  —  are  necessary  if  the  weed  is  to  Lettuce     (Lactuca 
be  subdued.  pulchella).    x  i 

HAIRY-VEINED   BLUE  LETTUCE 

Lactuca  villdsa,  Jaeq. 

Native.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range :  New  York  to  Illinois  and  Nebraska,  southward  to  Georgia, 

Florida,  and  Kentucky. 
Habitat:   Meadows,  pastures,  fence  rows,  and  borders  of  woods. 

Stem  two  to  six  feet  tall,  round  and  smooth.  Leaves  oblong  to 
lance-shaped,  long- pointed,  light  green,  smooth  and  glossy  above 
but  set  with  stiff  bristly  hairs  on  midrib  and  veins  beneath,  sharply 
and  often  doubly  toothed,  the  lower  ones  usually  lobed  at  the  base 

2N 


546  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

and  narrowed  to  winged  petioles,  those  on  the  stem  sessile  and 
clasping,  sometimes  auricled  at  base.  Heads  on  large,  loose, 
many-headed  panicles,  with  diverging  branchlets  which  usually 
have  a  few  minute,  scaly  bracts ;  each  less  than  a  half-inch  broad 
with  short  blue  rays ;  bracts  of  the  involucre  obtuse,  the  outer  row 
much  the  shorter.  Achenes  oblong,  small,  rather  thick,  without  a 
beak ;  pappus  silky  white. 

Means  of  control 

Deep  cutting  of  autumn  tufts  of  leaves  from  the  roots  with  spud 
or  hoe ;  close  cutting  of  all  flowering  stalks  before  the  development 
of  seed. 

TALL  BLUE  LETTUCE 
Lactuca  spicata,  Hitchc. 

Native.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  July  to  October. 

Seed-time:   August  to  November. 

Range:    Newfoundland  to  Manitoba,  southward  to  the  Carolinas, 

Tennessee,  and  Iowa. 
Habitat:   Meadows,  pastures,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

A  conspicuous  weed,  its  stem  three  to  twelve  feet  tall,  full  of 
bitter  milky  juice,  stout,  round,  smooth,  very  leafy  up  to  the  large, 
rather  dense,  compound  panicle.  Leaves  six  inches  to  a  foot  long, 
two  to  six  inches  wide,  deeply  and  irregularly  lobed,  sharply  toothed, 
smooth  above  but  sometimes  slightly  hairy  on  the  veins  beneath, 
those  on  the  stem  sessile,  clasping,  and  auriculate,  the  lower  ones 
narrowed  to  winged  petioles.  Heads  very  small,  about  a  quarter- 
inch  broad,  the  rays  usually  pale  blue  but  sometimes  cream- 
colored.  Achenes  slightly  flattened,  very  short-beaked,  the 
pappus  tawny  brown. 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  the  preceding  species. 

RUSH-LIKE  LYGODESMIA 
Lygodesmia  jtincea,  D.  Don. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:  June  to  August. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


547 


Seed-time:  July  to  September. 

Range :  Wisconsin  to  the  Plains  of  the  Saskatchewan,  southward  to 

Missouri  and  New  Mexico. 
Habitat :   Prairies ;   dry  fields  and  meadows. 


A  troublesome,  persistent  weed,  difficult  to  suppress,  which  is 
appearing  locally  in  some  of  the  Eastern  States,  traveling  by 
the  agencies  of  grass  seeds  or  baled  hay. 
Grazing  animals  reject  it  when  growing 
because  of  the  copious,  bitter,  and  milky 
juice;  and  when  dried  in  hay  its  stems 
are  too  hard  and  woody  to  be  eaten. 

It  has  a  thick,  deep-boring,  woody  root, 
from  which  several  tufted  stems  arise, 
eight  to  eighteen  inches  high,  erect,  stiff, 
branching,  round,  and  finely  grooved. 
Lower  leaves  a  half -inch  to  two  inches  in 
length,  narrowly  lance-shaped  to  linear, 
the  upper  ones  becoming  much  smaller, 
until  near  the  top  they  are  mere  awl- 
like  scales.  Heads  erect,  solitary  and 
terminal,  about  a  half-inch  broad,  usually 
five-flowered,  the  rays  five-toothed  at  the 
tips,  rosy  pink  or  light  purple ;  involucre 
about  a  half-inch  high,  cylindric,  with  an 
inner  row  of  five  to  eight  linear  bracts, 
scarious-margined,  united  at  the  base,  and 
surrounded  by  several  very  short  outer 
ones.  Achenes  very  slender,  nearly  a 
quarter-inch  long,  round,  tapering,  truncate 
at  summit,  with  a  copious,  light  brown 
pappus  by  which  they  are  freely  wind-distributed. 


FIG.  379.  —  Rush-like 
Lygodesmia  (Lygodesmia 
juncea) .  X  £. 


(Fig.  379.) 


Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  development  and  distribution  by  early  and  repeated 
cutting.  Infested  grass  lands  should  be  harvested  before  the  first 
flowers  mature,  and  should  later  be  broken  up  for  a  cultivated 
cleansing  crop  before  reseeding.  For  newly  infested  areas  the 


548 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


labor  of  hand-pulling  is  not  too  great  a  price  to  pay  in  order  to  save 
clean  ground  from  being  fouled  with  a  growth  so  pernicious. 


FALSE   DANDELION 

Pyrrhopdppus  carolinianus,  DC.. 
(Sitilias  carolinidna,  Raf .) 

Native.     Annual  or  biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   April  to  July. 

Seed-time:   May  to  August. 

Range :  Delaware  to  Missouri,  southward  to  Florida,  Louisiana,  and 

Texas. 
Habitat :   Dry  soil ;   fields,  pastures,  roadsides,  and  waste  places. 

Very  like  a  Dandelion  in  its 
appearance  but  for  its  branched 
and  leafy  stems ;  these  are  one 
to  nearly  three  feet  tall,  slender, 
and  smooth.  Basal  leaves  oblong 
to  lance-shaped,  three  to  eight 
inches  long,  coarsely  toothed  and 
lobed,  sometimes  pinnatifid,  nar- 
rowing to  margined  petioles ;  stem 
leaves  more  slender,  acute,  en- 
tire, sessile  or  partly  clasping. 
Heads  solitary  at  summit  of  stem 
and  branches,  nearly  two  inches 
broad,  with  many  deep  yellow 
rays ;  involucre  slightly  hairy,  its 
outer  bracts  spreading,  awl-like, 
and  short,  subtending  the  linear, 
erect,  and  slightly  united  inner 
row.  Achenes  reddish  brown, 
oblong,  five-ribbed,  narrowed  to 
a  thread-like  beak,  with  a  showy, 
copious  pappus  of  soft  rust-red 
hairs,  surrounded  at  its  base  by 

FIG.  380. -False  Dandelion  (Pyr-     *    ri.ng     °f    white     doWn' 
rhopappus  carolinianus).     X  i.          380.) 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  649 

Means  of  control 

Prevention  of  seeding  by  persistent,  frequent  cutting.    In  cul- 
tivated ground  the  necessary  tillage  destroys  the  weed. 


SMOOTH  HAWKSBEARD 

Crbpis  capilldris,  Walk. 
(Crepis  rlrens,  L.) 

Introduced.     Annual  or  biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :   July  to  September. 

Seed-time:   August  to  October. 

Range:    Atlantic  States  from  New  York  southward;    also  on  the 

Pacific  Coast. 
Habitat:   Fields  and  waste  places. 


Hawksbeards  are  European  weeds, 
not  as  yet  very  widely  distributed  in 
this  country  but  noted  in  their  range 
as  "  becoming  frequent."  This  species 
has  a  stem  ten  to  thirty  inches  tall, 
smooth,  slender,  branching  at  the 
top  into  a  loose,  corymbose  flower- 
cluster.  Basal  leaves  somewhat  re- 
sembling those  of  a  Dandelion,  five 
to  eight  inches  long,  lance-shaped 
to  spatulate,  pinnatifid  or  merely 
coarsely  toothed,  narrowing  to  winged 
petioles ;  stem  leaves  much  smaller, 
long-pointed,  clasping  the  stem  with 
an  auriculate  base,  the  upper  ones 
usually  entire.  Heads  numerous,  on 
very  slender  peduncles,  about  a  half- 
inch  broad,  gold-yellow;  involucre 
cylindric,  of  one  row  of  equal  bracts. 
Achenes  tapering  at  both  ends, 
ten-ribbed,  smooth,  without  a  beak, 
the  pappus  a  soft,  thick,  white 
aigrette  attached  to  the  apex.  (Fig. 
381.) 


FIG.  381.  — Smooth  Hawks- 
beard  (Crepis  capittaris).     X  J. 


550  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  development.  Crowns  of  autumn  plants  should  be 
hoe-cut  or  spudded  from  their  roots,  and  flower-stalks  should  be 
cut  in  their  first  bloom.  In  cultivated  ground  the  necessary  tillage 
will  keep  the  weed  suppressed,  but  plants  along  roadsides  and  in 
waste  places  should  not  be  allowed  to  mature  fruit  to  the  injury  of 
neighboring  land. 

NARROW-LEAVED   HAWKSBEARD 
Crepis  tectdrum,  L. 

Introduced.     Annual.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom :  June  to  August. 

Seed-time :  July  to  September. 

Range :  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  westward  to  Ontario,  Michigan, 

and  Nebraska. 
Habitat :  Fields  and  waste  places. 

A  smaller  and  more  slender  plant  than  the  preceding,  with  stem 
one  to  two  feet  in  height,  branching  from  the  base,  differing  also 
in  that  stalk  and  foliage  are  finely  downy.  Basal  and  lower  leaves 
narrowly  lance-shaped,  with  pointed,  slim,  backward-turning  lobes, 
the  edges  of  leaves  and  lobes  revolute ;  upper  leaves  nearly  linear, 
entire,  sessile,  sometimes  slightly  auriculate  and  clasping  at  base, 
the  margins  revolute.  Heads  numerous,  loosely  clustered,  bright 
yellow,  nearly  an  inch  broad,  on  slender,  hairy  peduncles ;  involucre 
also  downy,  with  lance-shaped,  equal  bracts.  Achenes  spindle- 
shaped,  narrowest  at  apex,  with  ten  roughened  ribs  and  copious, 
soft,  white  pappus. 

Measures  for  suppression  the  same  as  for  Smooth  Hawksbeard. 


ROUGH  HAWKSBEARD 
Crepis  biennis,  L. 

Introduced.     Biennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   June  to  August. 

Seed-time :  July  to  September. 

Range:   New  England  to  Pennsylvania,  westward  to  Michigan. 

Habitat:   Fields  and  waste  places. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  551 

Larger  than  either  of  the  preceding  species,  two  to  three  feet 
high,  the  whole  plant  usually  rough-hairy.  Base  leaves  about  six 
inches  in  length,  oblong  to  spatulate,  lobed  or  coarsely  and  very 
irregularly  toothed,  narrowing  to  margined  petioles;  upper  ones 
much  smaller,  lance-shaped,  and  clasping.  Heads  deep  yellow, 
more  than  an  inch  broad,  in  an  open  corymbose  cluster ;  involucre 
about  a  half-inch  high,  its  principal  bracts  narrowly  lance-shaped, 
the  outer  row  short,  pointed,  and  spreading.  Achenes  smooth, 
slightly  tapering  to  the  apex,  with  thirteen  ribs  and  a  spreading 
pappus  of  very  fine,  white  bristles. 

Means  of  control 

Hoe-cutting  or  spudding  of  first  year  leaf-crowns  from  the  fleshy 
root ;  plants  that  survive  to  form  fruiting  stalks  in  the  second  year 
should  be  cut  close  to  the  ground  before  the  first  flowers  mature. 

SMOOTH   WHITE   LETTUCE 

Prendnthes  racemdsa,  Michx. 
(Ndbalus  racemosus,  DC.) 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  of  bloom:   August  to  September. 

Seed-time:    September  to  October. 

Range:   New  Brunswick  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  southward  to 

New  York,  New  Jersey,  Missouri,  and  Colorado. 
Habitat :   Moist  soil ;  prairies  and  banks  of  streams,  wet  meadows, 

and  marshes. 

A  plant  of  very  stately  appearance,  with  a  stout  stalk,  two  to 
six  feet  or  more  in  height,  erect,  simple,  finely  ridged,  smooth, 
and  glaucous,  springing  from  a  thick,  tuberous,  and  very  bitter  root. 
Leaves  light  green,  rather  thick  in  texture,  smooth,  glaucous,  the 
lower  ones  sometimes  oval  but  usually  oblong  to  obovate,  four  to 
eight  inches  in  length,  obtuse  at  apex,  tapering  to  long,  margined 
petioles,  the  edges  with  sparse  and  shallow  teeth  ;  upper  ones  much 
smaller,  long-ovate  to  lance-shaped,  acute,  often  entire,  sessile, 
and  partly  clasping.  Heads  in  a  long,  interrupted,  spike-like 
panicle,  the  clusters  densely  crowded,  some  of  the  heads  nodding 
but  the  greater  number  erect ;  florets  pale  purple,  eight  to  fifteen 


552 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY} 


FIG.  382.  —  Smooth  White 
Lettuce  (Prenanthes  '  racemosa). 
X*. 


in  each  head ;  involucre  cylindric, 
with  eight  to  ten  linear  bracts  in  its 
principal  row,  with  a  few  short, 
spreading  outer  ones.  Achenes 
small,  slender,  with  fine,  straw-col- 
ored pappus. 

Means  of  control 

Cut  flower-stalks  close  to  the 
ground  before  the  buds  unfold,  thus 
preventing  seed  development  and 
distribution.  Drainage  and  cultiva- 
tion of  the  soil  are  necessary  in  order 
to  kill  the  perennial  roots. 

ROUGH   WHITE   LETTUCE 

Prendnthes  dspera,  Michx. 
(Ndbalus  dsper,  T.  &  G.) 

Native.  Perennial.  Propagates  by 
seed. 

Time  of  bloom :  August  to  Septem- 
ber. 

Seed-time :    September  to  October. 

Range :  Ohio  to  South  Dakota,  south- 
ward to  Kentucky,  Kansas,  and 
Louisiana. 

Habitat :  Dry  prairies ;  fields,  pas- 
tures, waste  places. 


Grazing  cattle  usually  leave  this  weed  undisturbed  to  perfect 
its  fruit,  liking  neither  its  rough-hairy  foliage  nor  its  bitter  juices. 
Stem  stout,  simple,  ridged,  and  bristly-hairy,  two  to  four  feet  tall. 
Leaves  long-oval  or  broadly  lance-shaped,  rather  thick  and  firm, 
rough  on  both  sides,  sparsely  toothed,  obtuse,  the  basal  ones  taper- 
ing to  winged  petioles ;  those  on  the  stem  all  sessile,  the  lower  ones 
clasping  and  obtuse,  the  uppermost  usually  entire  and  acute. 
Heads  numerous,  in  a  long,  spike-like  panicle,  mostly  erect  on  very 
short  pedicels,  each  about  a  half-inch  broad,  with  twelve  to  fifteen 
cream-colored  florets ;  involucre  cylindric,  very  hairy,  its  principal 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY)  553 

bracts  nearly  a  half-inch  long,  linear,  with  a  few  short,  pointed, 

spreading  ones  at  base.    Achenes  oblong,  with  straw-colored  pappus . 

Means  of  control  should  be  the  same  as  for  Prenanthes  serpentaria. 

GALL-OF-THE-EARTH 

Prendnthes  serpentaria,  Pursh 
(Ndbalus  serpentdrius,  Hook) 

Other  English  names:  Rattlesnake  Root,  Lion's  Foot,  Snake  Gen- 
tian, Drop  Flower,  Cankerweed. 

Native.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds. 

Time  oj  bloom:    August  to  October. 

Seed-time:   September  to  November. 

Range:  Ontario,  New  York,  and  Massachusetts,  southward  to 
Florida  and  Alabama. 

Habitat:   Fields,  pastures,  fence  rows,  open  thickets. 

The  large,  tuberous  roots  of  this  weed  are  extremely  bitter  and 
once  had  the  reputation  of  curing  rattlesnake  bites,  whence  its 
specific  and  common  names ;  stem  and  leaves  partake  of  the  same 
quality,  and,  even  when  good  forage  is  very  scarce,  grazing  cattle 
will  leave  it  unmolested  to  bloom  and  mature  seed. 

Stem  two  to  four  feet  tall,  erect,  smooth,  often  purplish,  not 
glaucous,  branched  above,  and  usually  somewhat  spreading. 
Leaves  rather  thick  and  firm,  the  lower  ones  often  six  or  eight  inches 
long  and  most  variable  in  shape ;  pinnatifid  or  palmately  lobed  or 
halberd-form  or  heart-shaped,  usually  with  wavy  edges  or  coarsely 
and  very  irregularly  toothed,  the  petioles  winged;  upper  leaves 
long-ovate  to  lance-shaped,  often  entire.  Panicles  rather  large, 
loose,  fork-branched,  upcurved,  the  heads  pendulous,  chiefly  in 
terminal  clusters  but  a  few  in  the  upper  axils ;  florets  eight  to  twelve, 
pale  purple  or  cream-colored ;  involucre  funnel-shaped,  the  bracts 
often  purplish,  usually  somewhat  bristly,  spreading  abruptly  above 
the  middle.  Achenes  yellowish  brown,  with  straw-colored  pappus. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  development  and  distribution  by  close  cutting 
while  in  early  bloom.  Cultivation  of  the  ground  will  destroy  the 
tuberous  roots.  Small  areas  should  be  grubbed  out. 


554 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


MOUSE-EAR   HAWZWEED 
Hieracium  Pilosella,  L. 

Other  English  names :  Felon  Herb,  Mouse  Bloodwort,  Ling  Gowans. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  stolons. 

Time  of  bloom:  June  to  September. 

Seed-time:   July  to  October. 

Range:   Ontario  to  Michigan,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio. 

Habitat:   Grasslands,  lawns  and  yards,  waste  places. 

Roots  tufted  and  fibrous,  not  far  below 
the  surface.  Stem  erect,  slender,  leafless, 
bristly-hairy,  three  to  ten  inches  high. 
Leaves  all  basal,  only  two  or  three  inches 
long  and  less  than  an  inch  wide,  entire, 
spatulate,  narrowing  into  short  petioles, 
bristly-hairy  on  both  sides,  but  green 
above  while  the  hairs  on  the  under  side 
are  star-shaped  and  matted  into  white 
wool.  Thrust  out  from  among  the  leaves 
are  several  slender,  leafy  runners,  three 
inches  to  a  foot  in  length,  which  take  root 
and  form  new  plants,  causing  the  weed  to 
grow  in  patches.  Heads  about  an  inch 
broad,  solitary,  golden  yellow ;  bracts  of 
the  involucre  in  one  or  two  series,  linear, 

FIG.  383.  —  Mouse-ear  pointed,  hairy.  Achenes  oblong,  ribbed, 
(Hieracium  the  pappus  a  funnel-form  row  of  fine, 
tawny  bristles.  (Fig.  383.) 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Orange  Hawkweed. 


Hawkweed 
Pilosella).     X  J. 


ORANGE   HAWKWEED 
Hieracium  aurantlacum,  L. 

Other  English  names:   Devil's  Paintbrush,  Devil's  Weed,  Grim  the 

Collier,  Red  Daisy. 

Introduced.     Perennial.     Propagates  by  seeds  and  by  stolons. 
Time  of  bloom :   Early  June  to  September. 
Seed-time:  July  to  October. 
Range:    Eastern  provinces  of  Canada,  New  England,  and  Middle 

Atlantic  States  to  Ohio ;   locally  farther  west. 
Habitat:   Fields,  meadows,  pastures,  roadsides,  waste  places. 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


555 


One  of  the  most  pernicious  weeds  that  have  come  to  us  from 
Europe,  the  range  of  which  is  widening  every  year.  Grazing 
animals  dislike  and  reject  the  plant  even  when  dried  in  hay,  for  it  is 
densely  hairy  in  every  part  and  its  juices  are  acrid  and  bitter. 

Stem  six  to  eighteen  inches  tall,  unbranched,  and  without  leaves 
except  an  occasional  short  bract,  very  slender,  erect,  closely  set  with 
short,  stiff,  black  hairs,  which,  in  England, 
gave  the  weed  its  name  of  Grim  the  Collier. 
Leaves  basal,  clustered  in  rosette  form  about 
the  stem,  oblong  to  spatulate,  obtuse,  dark 
green,  hairy  on  both  sides ;  this  flat,  matted 
growth  of  leaves  chokes  out  grass  or  other 
plants  among  which  the  weed  is  growing. 
Thrust  out  from  among  the  leaves  are 
usually  several  stolons,  or  runners,  with 
young  plants  or  buds  at  their  tips.  Flower- 
heads  in  a  compact,  corymbose  cluster,  on 
short,  glandular-hairy  peduncles,  only  a  few 
blossoms  open  at  one  time,  the  rest  of  the 
bunch  being  composed  of  buds  in  various 
stages  of  growth.  The  heads  are  about 
an  inch  broad  when  fully  open,  flaming 
orange-red,  the  rays  toothed  at  the  tips ; 
bracts  of  the  involucre  imbricated  in  two 
or  three  series,  lance-shaped,  hairy.  Achenes 
oblong,  dark  brown,  ten-ribbed,  with  pap- 
pus a  single  row  of  tawny,  shining,  bristle- 
like  hairs,  spread  in  funnel-form,  making 
parachutes  by  which  the  wind  distributes 
them  far  and  wide.  (Fig.  384.) 

Means  of  control 

The  roots  of  this  weed  are  fibrous  and  spreading  and  near  the 
surface ;  careful  cultivation  of  the  ground,  particularly  with  hoed 
crops,  destroys  it.  But  the  plant  is  often  a  pest  of  permanent 
grass  lands  where  cultivation  is  not  desirable ;  here  the  best  treat- 
ment is  a  liberal  application  of  dry  salt,  spread  broadcast  over  the 


FIG.  384.  —  Orange 


556  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

patches  so  thickly  as  to  cover  all  the  plants.  In  the  experiments 
carried  on  at  the  Vermont  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  by 
Professor  Jones,  it  was  found  that  as  large  a  quantity  of  salt  as 
eighteen  pounds  to  the  square  rod  may  be  used  without  serious 
injury  to  the  grass ;  indeed  the  grass  soon  becomes  all  the  finer 
when  relieved  of  its  crowding  competitor,  for  the  weed  so  smothers 
and  "runs  out"  the  grass  that  it  does  much  more  harm  than  a 
temporary  check  in  growth  from  the  salt  treatment. 

Plants  in  roadsides  and  waste  places  should  be  looked  after  and 
destroyed.  If  possible,  the  sentiment  of  an  entire  neighborhood 
should  be  aroused  against  Orange  Hawkweed,  for,  with  a  plant  of 
this  quality,  the  careful  farmer  is  largely  at  the  mercy  of  any 
slovenly  cultivator  who  chooses 
to  be  regardless  of  communal 
welfare. 

FIELD   HAWKWEED 
Hieracium  pratense,  Tausch. 

Other  English  names :  King  Devil, 
Yellow  Devil. 

Introduced.  Perennial.  Propa- 
gates by  seeds  and  by  stolons. 

Time  of  bloom :   June  to  August. 

Seed-time:  July  to  September. 

Range :  Eastern  Quebec  to  south- 
ern New  York. 

Habitat:  Fields,  meadows,  road- 
sides, and  waste  places. 

Not  many  years  have  passed 
since  this  immigrant  from  Europe 
landed  in  this  country;  its  range 
is  not  as  yet  very  extensive  and 
it  is  to  be  hoped  that  it  may  not 
increase  fast  or  far.  Cattle  re- 
fuse to  eat  the  plant  because  of 
its  bristly  foliage  and  nauseous, 
bitter  juices. 

FIG.  385.  —  Field  Hawkweed  (Hie-        Stems  one  to  two  feet  tall,  slen- 
racium  pratense) .    x  £.  der,  bristly  hairy,  with  two  or  three 


COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 


557 


small  leaves  near  the  base,  and  branching  at  the  top  into  a 
loose,  open  flower-cluster.  Basal  leaves  tufted,  narrowly  oblong 
to  lance-shaped,  tapering  backward  to  margined  petioles,  light 
green,  entire,  bristly  hairy  on  both  sides.  Stolons  few,  lacking  on 
many  plants.  Heads  yellow,  about  three-quarters  of  an  inch  broad, 
on  glandular,  hairy  pedicels  ;  bracts  of  the  involucre  nearly  linear, 
pointed,  blackish,  sticky-hairy.  Achenes  brown,  oblong,  with 
lengthwise  ridges  ;  pappus  a  ring  of  fine,  plumose  bristles  arranged 
funnel  shape.  (Fig.  385.) 

Means  of  control  the  same  as  for  Orange  Hawkweed. 


HAIRY   HAWKWEED 
Hieracium  Grondvii,  L. 

Native.     Perennial.    Propagates  by  seeds. 
Time  of  bloom:   July  to  September. 
Seed-time:  August  to  October. 
Range  :  Massachusetts  to  Ontario,  Illinois, 

and  Kansas,  southward  to  Georgia  and 

Louisiana. 
Habitat  :     Dry    soil  ;     grasslands,    waste 

places. 

Stem  very  slender,  erect,  one  to  three 
feet  tall,  hairy,  with  a  few  leaves  below 
the  middle.  Basal  and  lower  leaves  two 
to  six  inches  long,  obovate  or  spatulate, 
narrowing  to  short  petioles,  obtuse,  en- 
tire or  with  a  few  shallow  teeth,  rough- 
hairy  above  but  covered  on  the  under 
side  with  minute,  star-shaped  hairs. 
Heads  in  a  narrow  panicle,  without  leafy 
bracts,  each  about  a  half-inch  broad, 
light  yellow,  on  very  slender  and  slightly 
glandular  pedicels  ;  principal  bracts  of 
the  involucre  in  one  series,  nearly  linear, 
acute,  with  an  outer  row  very  much 
shorter.  Achenes  spindle-shaped,  with  a 
pappus  of  fine,  brown  bristles,  arranged 
in  funnel  form.  (Fig.  386.) 


Grmovii). 


558  COMPOSITAE  (COMPOSITE  FAMILY) 

Two  other  species  of  Hawkweed  are  becoming  abundant  in 
eastern  Canada  and  northern  New  York  and  New  England.  Both 
promptly  named  "King  Devils"  by  the  farmers  whom  they  vic- 
timize. Hieracium  floribundum,  increasing  by  numerous  stolons 
and  also  by  flowering  branches  at  the  base ;  a  smooth  and  glaucous 
plant  except  that  the  spatulate  leaves  are  bristly  on  the  margins, 
and  sometimes  on  midrib  and  veins  beneath.  Heads  in  large 
dense  corymbs,  yellow,  with  blackish  involucres.  Hieracium 
florentmum,  springing  from  a  short  stout  rootstock,  with  smooth, 
spatulate  basal  leaves  or  sometimes  sparsely  bristly  beneath,  the 
scape  often  nearly  two  feet  tall  with  manyheaded  yellow  corymb. 

Means  of  control 

Prevent  seed  production  and  distribution  by  close  cutting  of 
flowering  stalks  while  in  early  bloom.  Cultivation  of  the  soil 
destroys  the  perennial  roots.  Like  the  Orange  Hawkweed  these 
plants  may  be  suppressed  in  grasslands  by  the  use  of  salt. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

BAILEY,  L.  H. 

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Cyclopedia  of  American  Horticulture. 

Farm  and  Garden  Rule  Book.  [  Macmillan  Co. 

Lessons  with  Plants. 

Manual  of  Gardening. 
BEAL,  W.  J. 

Grasses  of  North  America.     Henry  Holt  &  Co. 

Seed  Dispersal.     Ginn  &  Co. 
BLATCHLEY,  W.  S. 

The  Indiana  Weed  Book.     Nature  Publishing  Co.,  Indianapolis. 
BRITTON,  N.  L.,  AND  BROWN,  A. 

Illustrated  Flora  of  the  Northern  United  States  and  Canada. 

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CHAPMAN,  A.  W. 

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New  Manual  of  Botany  for  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

American  Book  Co. 
CRANE,  P.  B. 

Quack-grass  Eradication.     Webb  Publishing  Co.     St.  Paul,  Minn. 

DARLING,  CHESTER  A. 

Handbook  of  Wild  and  Cultivated  Flowering  Plants. 

Mason-Henry  Press,  Syracuse,  N.Y. 
DARLINGTON,  WILLIAM. 

American  Weeds  and  Useful  Plants.     Orange  Judd  Co. 

EWART,  ALFRED. 

Weeds,  Poison  Plants,  and  Naturalized  Aliens  of  Victoria. 

Government  Printing  Press,  Melbourne,  Australia 
559 


560  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

FLINT,  MARTHA. 

The  Garden  of  Simples.     Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

GOODRICH,  CHARLES  L. 

The  First  Book  of  Farming.     Doubleday,  Page  &  Co. 
GRAY,  ASA. 

New  Manual  of  Botany,  Seventh  Edition. 

Field,  Forest,  and  Garden  Botany.     American  Book  Co. 

JEPSON,  W.  L. 

Flora  of  Western  Middle  California.     University  of  California. 

KERNER  &  OLIVER. 

Natural  History  of  Plants.     Blackie  &  Son,  London. 
KNIGHT,  ALFRED  E. 

The  Living  Plant.     Hutchinson  &  Co.,  London. 
KNOBEL,  EDWARD. 

Grasses,  Sedges,  and  Rushes  of  the  United  States. 

Bradlee  Whidden,  Boston. 

LONG,  HAROLD  C. 

Common  Weeds  of  Farm  and  Garden.  Smith,  Elder  &  Co.,  London. 
LYONS,  A.  B. 

Plant  Names,  Scientific  and  Popular.     Nelson  Baker  Co.,  Detroit. 

NEEDHAM,  JAMES  G. 

Natural  History  of  the  Farm.     Comstock  Publishing  Co.,  Ithaca. 

PAMMEL,  L.  H. 

Manual  of  Poisonous  Plants.     Torch  Press,  Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa. 

Weeds  of  Farm  and  Garden.     Orange  Judd  Co. 
PARSONS,  M.  E. 

Wild  Flowers  of  California.     Cunningham,  Curtis  &  Welch, 

San  Francisco. 
PERCIVAL,  JOHN. 

Agricultural  Botany.     Henry  Holt  &  Co. 

SARGENT,  FREDERICK  L. 

Plants  and  their  Uses.     Henry  Holt  &  Co. 
SCRIBNER,  F.  LAMSON. 

American  Grasses.     Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  561 

SHAW,  THOMAS. 

Weeds  and  How  to  Eradicate  Them. 

Webb  Publishing  Co.,  St.  Paul. 
SMALL,  JOHN  K. 

Flora  of  the  Southeastern  United  States. 
SPILLMAN,  W.  J. 

Farm  Grasses  of  the  United  States.     Orange  Judd  Co. 
STRASBURGER,  E. 

Handbook  of  Practical  Botany.     Macmillan  Co. 
STEVENS,  GEORGE  T. 

Illustrated  Guide  to  Flowering  Plants.     Dodd,  Mead  &  Co. 

WALTON,  GEORGE  L. 

Practical  Guide  to  Wild  Flowers  and  Fruits. 

J.  B.  Lippincott  Co. 
WARD,  H.  MARSHALL. 

Grasses.     Cambridge  University  Press,  London. 
WARREN,  GEORGE  F. 

Elements  of  Agriculture.     Macmillan  Co. 


2o 


LIST  OF  PLANTS  DISTINCTLY  POISONOUS  OR 
MECHANICALLY  HARMFUL  TO  ANIMAL 
LIFE 


Aster,  Woody 
Barley,  Wild 
Bunch-flower 
Buttercup,  Bulbous 

Meadow 
Camas,  Death 
Cherry,  Wild  Black 
Clover,  Rabbit-foot 
Cockle,  Corn 

Cow 

Crowfoot,  Cursed 
Darnel 

Dogbane,  Spreading 
Foxglove,  Purple 
Hellebore,  American 
Hemlock,  Poison 

Water 

Hemp,  Black  Indian 
Henbane,  Black 
Horsetail,  Field 
Ivy,  Poison 
Jamestown  Weed 
Johnson-grass 
Larkspur,  Dwarf 

Field 

Purple 

Sky-blue 

Small 

Tall  Mountain 

Western 

Laurel,  Narrow-leaved 
Lobelia,  Great 


PAGE 

Xylorhiza  Parryi  429 

Hordeum  jubatum  64 

Melanthium  virginicum  77 

Ranunculus  bulbosus  157 

acris  159 

Zygadenus  venenosus  76 

Prunus  serotina  217 

Trifolium  arvense  229 

Agrostemma  Githago  142 

Saponaria  Vaccaria  151 

Ranunculus  sceleratus  154 

Lolium  temulentum  60 

Apocynum  androscemifolium          312 

Digitalis  purpurea  382 

Veratrum  viride  78 

Conium  maculatum  300 

Cicuta  maculata  301 

Apocynum  cannabinum  314 

Hyoscyamus  niger  373 

Equisetum  arvense  20 

Rhus  Toxicodendron  274 

Datura  Stramonium  375 

Sorghum  halepense  22 

Delphinium  tricorne  162 

Consolida  161 

bicolor  165 

azureum  163 

Menziesii  166 

glaucum  164 

trollifolium  167 

Kalmia  angustifolium  308 

Lobelia  syphilitica  410 

563 


564 


LIST  OF  POISONOUS    PLANTS 


Loco- weed,  Stemless 

Woolly 
Lupine,  Nebraska 

Low 

Silvery 

Mustard,  Wormseed 
Nightshade,  Bittersweet 

Black 

Painted  Leaf 
Parsley,  Fool's 
Parsnip,  Cow 

Wild 
Pea,  Everlasting 

Hoary 

Meadow 

Tuberous  Wild 
Pear,  Prickly 
Pimpernel,  Scarlet 
Pokeberry  or  Pokeweed 
Porcupine-grass 
Rattlebox 
Sneezeweed 

Fine-leaved 

Purple-headed 
Snow-on-the-Mountain 
Sorrel,  Field 
Spurge,  Cypress 

Upright  Spotted 
Stagger-bush 
Stinking  Willie 
Sumac,  Poison 
Swallow- wort,  Black 
Thornapple,  Purple 

Hairy 
Tobacco,  Indian 


Oxytropis  Lamberti  241 

Astragalus  mollisimus  239 

Lupinus  plattensis  226 

pusillus  229 

argenteus  228 

Erysimum  cheiranthoides  195 

Solanum  Dulcamara  363 

nigrum  364 

Euphorbia  heterophylla  270 

dtthusa  Cynapium  303 

Heradeum  lanatum  306 

Pastinaca  saliva  305 

Lathyrus  latifolius  250 

Tephrosia  virginiana  238 

Lathyrus  pratensis  252 

tuberosus  250 

Opuntia  Rafinesquii  288 

Anagallus  arvensis  311 

Phytolacca  decandra  128 

Stipa  spartea  39 

Crotalaria  sagittalis  222 

Helenium  autumnale  481 

tenufolium  483 

nudiflorum  482 

Euphorbia  marginata  267 

Rumex  Acetosella  96 

Euphorbia  Cyparissias  272 

Pressft  264 

Lyonia  mariana  310 

Senecio  Jacobcea  506 

#Jms  Fernia;  273 

Cynanchum  nigrum  319 

Datura  Tatula  376 

AfeteZ  376 

Lobelia  inflata  411 


GLOSSARY 

Abortive.     Defective  or  barren. 

Achene.     A  small,  dry,  hard,  one-celled,  and  one-seeded  fruit,  with 

tightly  fitting  and  valveless  covering. 
Acute.     Sharp-pointed. 
Alternate  (leaves).   Not  opposite ;  arranged  singly  at  different  heights 

on  the  axis. 

Annual.     A  plant  which  matures  fruit  in  one  year. 
Anther.     The  part  of  a  stamen  which  contains  the  pollen. 
Appressed.     Lying  flatly  and  close  against. 
Ascending.     Curving  upward  or  rising  obliquely. 
Auricle.     An  ear-shaped  lobe  or  appendage. 
Awl-shaped.     Tapering  from  the  base  to  a  rigid  point. 
Awn.     A  very  slender  but  stiff  and  bristle-like  appendage. 
Axil.     The  angle  formed  by  the  junction  of  a  leaf  or  branch  with  the 


Axillary.     Situated  in  an  axil. 

Barbed.     Tipped  with  sharp,  rigid,  and  reflexed  points. 

Beaked.     Having  a  tapering,  prolonged  tip. 

Berry.     A  simple  fruit  which  is  wholly  pulpy  or  fleshy  except  the  outer 

skin. 

Biennial.     Of  two  years'  duration. 
Blade.     The  flat,  expanded  part  of  a  leaf. 
Bract.     A  more  or  less  modified  leaf  subtending  a  flower,  or  a  flower 

cluster,  or  sometimes  borne  on  a  stem. 

Bulb.     An  underground  leaf-bud  with  fleshy  scales  or  coats. 
Bulbous.     Bearing  bulbs. 
Calyx.     The  outer  floral  envelope. 
Canescent.     Hoary  with  fine  gray  hairs. 
Capillary.     Hair-like. 
Capitate.     Shaped  like  a  head. 
Capsule.     A  dry  fruit  of  two  or  more  carpels,  opening  usually  by  valves 

or  teeth. 

Carpel.     A  single  ovary,  or  one  part  of  a  compound  ovary. 
665 


566  GLOSSARY 

Cell.     A  cavity  of  an  ovary  or  of  an  anther. 

Ciliate.     Fringed  with  marginal  hairs. 

Coma.     A  tuft  of  hairs  at  the  end  of  some  seeds. 

Comose.     Bearing  tufted  hairs  at  the  apex. 

Compound.     Composed  of  similar  parts  forming  one  whole. 

Compressed.     Flattened  laterally. 

Connate.     Similar  structures  more  or  less  united. 

Corm.     The  swollen,  fleshy,  and  solid  base  of  a  stem. 

Corolla.     The  inner  floral  leaves  or  petals,  which  may  be  distinct 

or  more  or  less  united. 
Corymb.     A  convex  or  flat-topped  flower  cluster  with  pedicels  or 

rays  arising  from  different  points  on  the  axis,  and  with  the  pro- 
gression of  bloom  from  the  margin  inward. 
Crenate.     Scalloped  ;   having  rounded  teeth. 
Culm.     The  stem  peculiar  to  grasses  and  sedges. 
Cyme.     A  convex  or  flattened  flower  cluster  of  which  the  central 

flowers  first  unfold,  the  progression  of  bloom  being  toward  the 

margin. 
Deciduous.     Not  persistent ;   falling  away  at  the  end  of  the  growing 

period. 

Decumbent.     Declining  but  with  the  end  ascending. 
Decurrent  (leaf).     Extending  down  the  stem  below  the  insertion. 
Deflexed.     Turned  abruptly  downward. 
Dehiscent.     Opening  regularly  by  valves,  slits,  or  teeth. 
Depressed.     Flattened  vertically. 
Diffuse.     Widely  or  loosely  spreading. 
Dioecious.     Bearing  staminate  or  male  flowers  on  one  plant,   and 

fertile  or  pistillate  flowers  on  another  plant. 
Disk.     In  Composites,  the  tubular  flowers  of  the  head  as  distinct  from 

the  rays. 
Drupe.     A  fleshy  or  pulpy  fruit  having  an  inner  portion  of  the  pericarp 

hard  and  bone-like. 

Entire.     Without  divisions,  lobes,  or  teeth. 
Exserted.     Projecting  beyond  an  envelope,  as  the  stamens  from  a 

corolla. 

Fascicle.     A  close  bundle  or  cluster. 
Fertile.     Bearing  fruit  or  seed. 
Filament.     The  part  of  a  stamen  which  supports  the  anther;    any 

thread-like  body. 

Floret.     A  small  flower,  usually  one  of  a  head  or  a  dense  cluster. 
Follicle.     A  fruit  consisting  of  a  single  carpel,  opening  by  the  ventral 

or  inner  suture. 


GLOSSARY  567 

Fruit.     The  seed-bearing  product  of  any  plant,  simple,  compound,  or 

aggregated,  of  whatever  form. 
Glabrous.     Smooth  ;  without  hairs. 
Gland.     A  secreting  cell  or  structure. 
Glaucous.     Covered  with  a  white  or  bluish-white  bloom. 
Globose.     Nearly  spherical. 
Glume.     One  of  the  two  outer  chaffy  bracts  at  the  base  of  the  spikelet 

in  the  grasses. 

Habitat.     A  plant's  natural  place  of  growth. 
Halberd-shaped.     Like  an  arrow-head  but  with  the  basal  lobes  pointing 

outward  instead  of  backward. 

Herb.     A  plant  with  no  persistent  woody  stem  above  the  ground. 
Hirsute.     Bearing  rather  coarse,  stiff  hairs. 
Hispid.     Set  with  rigid  or  bristly  hairs. 
Imbricated.     Overlapping. 
Included.     Not  protruding  from   the   surrounding  envelope,   as   the 

stamens  from  the  corolla. 

Indehiscent.     Persistently  closed  ;  a  fruit  covering  without  an  opening. 
Indigenous.     Native  to  the  region  of  growth. 
Inflated.     Bladder-like. 
Inserted.     Attached  to  or  growing  out  of. 
Interne  de.     The  portion  of  a  stem  between  two  nodes  or  joints. 
Introduced.     Brought  from  another  region  to  the  place  of  growth. 
Involucre.     A  circle  or  whorl  of  bracts  subtending  a  flower  cluster, 

or  a  head,  or  a  single  flower. 
Involute.     Rolled  inward. 

Irregular.     Showing  inequality  in  size  and  form  of  similar  parts. 
Keeled.     Centrally  ridged  along  the  back. 
Leaflet.     A  single  division  of  a  compound  leaf. 

Lemma.     The  lower  of  the  two  bracts  inclosing  the  flower  in  the  grasses. 
Ligule.     The  thin  projection  at  the  top  of  the  sheath  in  grasses ;   the 

ray  flowers  in  Composites. 

Linear.     Long  and  narrow  with  sides  nearly  parallel. 
Lobe.     Any  segment  of  an  organ,  especially  if  rounded. 
Lyrate.     Pinnatifid,  with  the  terminal    lobe    much    larger    than    the 

others. 

Membranous.     Thin,  rather  soft  and  more  or  less  translucent. 
Monoecious.     Bearing  stamens  and  pistils  in  different  flowers  but  on 

the  same  plant. 

Naturalized.     Not  native  to  the  region  of  growth. 
Nectary.     An  organ  or  cavity  where  nectar  is  secreted. 
Nerve.     An  unbranched  vein  or  a  slender  rib. 


568  GLOSSARY 

Neutral.     Without  stamens  or  pistils. 

Node.     The  part  of  a  stem  or  branch  at  which  a  leaf  or  leaves  are 

borne. 

Oblong.     Longer  than  broad  with  sides  nearly  parallel. 
Obovate.     Inversely  ovate. 
Obovoid.     Inversely  ovoid. 
Obtuse.     Blunt  or  rounded  at  apex. 
Ovary.     The  part  of  a  pistil  which  contains  the  seeds. 
Ovate.     Having  an  egg-shaped  outline  with  the  broader  end  at  the  base. 
Ovoid.     Egg-shaped. 

Ovule.     The  body  which  after  fertilization  becomes  the  seed. 
Palea.     The  upper  of  the  two  bracts  which  inclose  the  flower  in  grasses. 
Palmate  (leaf).     With  segments  radiately  diverging. 
Panicle.     A  somewhat  loose  and  irregular  compound  flower  cluster. 
Pappus.     In  Composites  the  bristles,  awns,  teeth,  or  scales  which  crown 

the  achene. 
Parasite.     A  plant  which  grows  upon  other  plants  and  absorbs  their 

juices. 

Pedicel.  The  support  of  one  of  the  flowers  composing  a  flower  cluster. 
Peduncle.     The  stalk  of  a  flower  cluster  or  of  a  single  flower. 
Perennial.     Lasting  year  after  year. 
Perfect  (flower).     Having  both  stamens  and  pistils. 
Perfoliate.     A  leaf  so  clasping  the  stem  as  to  seem  pierced  by  it. 
Perianth.     The  floral  envelope,  sepals  and  petals,  regarded  collectively. 
Persistent.     Said  of  organs  which  remain  attached  to  their  plaoe  of 

growth  after  growth  has  ceased. 

Petal.     One  of  the  divisions  of  the  inner  floral  envelope  or  corolla. 
Petiole.     The  footstalk  of  a  leaf. 
Pinnate   (leaf).     Compound,  with  leaflets  arranged  along  the  sides 

of  a  common  petiole. 
Pinnatifid.    Pinnately  cleft. 
Pistil.     The  seed-bearing  organ  of  a  flower,  consisting  of  ovary,  stigma, 

and  style,  or  the  latter  sometimes  lacking. 
Pistillate.     Having  pistils ;   ordinarily  used  in  the  sense  of  having  no 

stamens. 

Pod.     Any  dry  and  dehiscent  fruit. 
Pollen.     The  fertilizing  grains  borne  in  the  anthers. 
Prickle.     A  sharp  outgrowth  from  the  bark  of  a  stem,  or  on  the  surface 

or  stalk  of  a  leaf. 
Procumbent.     Lying  or  trailing  on  the  ground  but  without  rooting 

at  the  nodes. 
Prostrate.     Lying  flat  on  the  ground. 


GLOSSARY  569 

Pubescent.     Covered  with  short,  soft,  and  down-like  hairs. 

Raceme.     An  elongated  simple  flower  cluster  with  each  flower  pedi- 

celled. 

Rachis.     The  axis  of  a  spike  or  a  raceme,  or  of  a  compound  leaf. 
Ray.     One  of  the  flower  stalks  of  an  umbel ;  the  strap-shaped  marginal 

flowers  in  the  Composites. 
Receptacle.     The  more  or  less  expanded  end  of  the  stem  which  bears 

the  organs  of  a  flower,  or,  in  the  Composite,  the  collection  of  flowers 

in  a  head. 

Recurved.     Curved  downward  or  backward. 
Reflexed.     Bent  abruptly  downward  or  backward. 
Regular.     Having  the  members  of  each  part  alike  in  form  and  size. 
Revolute.     Rolled  backward  from  the  margin  or  apex. 
Rib.     A  primary  or  prominent  vein  in  a  leaf. 
Rootstock.     An  underground,  bud-bearing  stem. 
Scape.     A  naked  or  nearly  leafless  flower-stalk  arising  directly  from 

the  crown  of  the  root. 

Scarious.     Thin,  dry,  and  membranous,  not  green. 
Segment.     One  of  the  divisions  of  a  lobed  or  cleft  leaf,  or  other  organ 

of  a  plant. 

Sepal.     One  of  the  divisions  of  a  calyx. 
Serrate.     With  sharp,  forward-pointing  teeth. 
Sessile.     Without  a  footstalk  of  any  kind. 

Sheath.     A  tubular  envelope,  as  the  lower  part  of  the  leaf  in  grasses. 
Silicle.     A  short  silique. 
Silique.     The  pod  peculiar  to  the  Cruciferoe. 
Simple.     Not  compound. 
Sinuate.     Wavy-edged. 

Sinus.     The  cleft  or  space  between  two  lobes. 
Spadix.     A  flower  spike  having  a  fleshy  axis. 
Spathe.     A  large  bract  or  a  pair  of  bracts  inclosing  a  spadix  or  a  flower 

cluster. 

Spatulate.     Narrowing  gradually  toward  the  base  from  a  rounded  apex. 
Spike.     An  elongated  flower  cluster  with  flowers  sessile  or  nearly  so 

upon  its  axis. 

Spine.     A  sharp  and  rigid  outgrowth  from  the  stem  of  a  plant. 
Spur.     A  tubular  or  sac-like  extension  of  some  part  of  a  flower,  usually 

nectar-bearing. 

Stamen.     One  of  the  pollen-bearing  organs  of  a  flower. 
Stem.     The  main  ascending  axis  of  a  plant. 

Sterile.     Unproductive,  as  a  flower  without  a  pistil,  or  a  stamen  with- 
out an  anther. 


570  GLOSSARY 

Stigma.     That  part  of  the  pistil  through  which  pollen  grains  penetrate 

and  effect  fertilization. 

Stipe.     The  stalk-like  support  of  a  pistil ;  the  leafstalk  of  a  fern. 
Stipule.     An  appendage  at  the  base  of  a  leafstalk  or  on  each  side  of 

its  insertion. 

Stolon.     A  runner,  or  any  basal  branch  which  takes  root  at  the  nodes. 
Striate.     Marked  with  lengthwise  lines  or  ridges. 
Style.     The  (usually)  slender  and  elongated  part  of  a  pistil  connecting 

the  ovary  and  stigma. 
Succulent.     Juicy  and  fleshy. 

Suture.     The  line  of  splitting  or  opening  of  a  dehiscent  fruit. 
Ternate.     Arranged  in  threes. 
Tendril.     Very  slender,  coiling  organs  by  which  some  climbing  plants 

cling  to  a  support. 

Tomentose.  Densely  covered  with  wool-like  hairs. 
Truncate.  Ending  abruptly  as  if  cut  off  squarely. 
Tuber.  A  short,  thickened,  underground  branch  having  numerous 

buds  or  "  eyes." 
Umbel.     A  flower  cluster  having  all  the  pedicels  arising  froni  the  same 

point. 
Unisexual.     Bearing   staminate   and   pistillate   flowers   on   different 

plants. 

Utricle.     The  bladder-like  covering  of  a  one-seeded  fruit. 
Valve.     One  of  the  divisions  into  which  a  capsule  splits. 
Vein.     Branching  threads  of  fibrous  tissue  in  leaves  and  other  organs. 
Viscid.     Glutinous  or  sticky. 
Whorl.     Arranged  in  a  circle  around  a  stem. 


INDEX 

Names  of  families  and  species  in  Italics ;  common  names  in  Roman  type. 


Aaron's  Rod,  202 
Absinth,  498 
Abutilon  Avicennce,  276 

Theophrasti,  276 
Acalypha  virginica,  262 
AchiUea  Millefolium,  486 

Ptarmica,  487 
Acnida  tuberculata,  125 
Actinomeris  alternifolia,  468 
Adopogon  carolinianum,  527 

virginianum,  527 
dEthusa  Cynapium,  303 
Agrimonia  gryposepala,  212 

hirsute,  212 

mollis,  213 

parviflora,  214 
Agrimony,  Small-flowered,  214 

Soft,  213 

Tall  Hairy,  212 
Agropyron  repens,  61 
Agrostemma  Oithago,  142 
4;u0a  reptans,  346 
Ale-cost,  494 
Ale-hoof,  351 
Alfilaria,  258 
Alkanet,  Bastard,  339 
Allelulia,  224 
Alliaria  officinalis,  190 
Allionia  hirsute,  130 

linearis,  131 

nyctaginea,   129 
Allium  canadens'e,  83 

vineale,  80 

.AZopecwrus  geniculatus,  45 
Alsine  graminea,  138 

media,  139 
Alyssum,  Hoary,  173 
Amaranth,  Low,  123 

Hairy,  124 
Amaranthus  albus,  122 

blitoides,  123 

grcecizans,  122 


Amaranthus  retroflexus,  120 

spinosus,  124 
Ambrosia,  108 

Tall,  454 
.Am&rosia  artemisiifolia,  455 

psttostechya,  457 

frtfda,  454 
Ampelanus  albidus,  319 

m'ncfcia  intermedia,  336 
Anagallis  arvensis,  311 
Andromeda,  Maryland,  310 
Andropogon  halepensis,  22 

irfftnicus,  21 
Anemone,  Tall,  160 
Anemone  virginiana,  160 
emopsts  calif ornica,  85 
Angle-pod,  319 
Antennaria  dioica,  443 

neglecte,  443 

planteginifolia,  441 
Anthemis  arvensis,  489 

cofwfcz,  488 

tinctoria,  490 
Antimony,  Vegetable,  417 
Anychia  polygonoides,  134 
Apocynum  androscemifolium,  312 

cannabinum,  314 
Apple,  Earth,  467 

Mad,  375 

Mock,  406 

of  Peru,  372 

of  Sodom,  365 

Wild  Balsam,  406 
Aragallus  spicatus,  241 
Arctium  Lappa,  508 

minus,  510 
.Arenaria  serpyllifolia,  137 
.Ar^emone  merricana,  172 
Aristida,  Few-flowered,  42 
Aristida  dichotoma,  41 

fasciculate,  42 

oligantha,  42 
571 


572 


INDEX 


Arnica,  530 
Arnoseris  minima,  524 
Artemisia  Absinthium,  498 

annua,  497 

biennis,  497 

frigida,  499 

tridentata,  500 

vulgaris,  496 

Artichoke,  Jerusalem,  467 
Asclepias  incarnata,  316 

speciosa,  317 

syriaca,  317 

tuberosa,  315 
Asses'  Ears,  337 
Aster,  Bushy,  428 

Early  Purple,  435 

Hairy  Golden,  423 

Heart-leaved,  431 

Many-flowered,  433 

Maryland  Golden,  422 

New  England,  430 

Purple-stemmed,  435 

Smooth,  431 

Tradescant's,  434 

White  Heath,  432 

White  Wreath,  433 

Willow-leaved,  435 

Woody,  429 
Aster  cordifolius,  432 

ericoides,  432 

lawis,  431 

multiflorus,  433 

novce-anglice,  430 

puniceus,  435 

salicifolius,  435 

Tradescanti,  434 
Astragalus  mollisimus,  239 
Atriplex  patula,  114 
Avena  fatua,  48 
Avens,  White,  210 
Axyris  amarantoides,  119 

Bachelor's  Button,  520 
Backwort,  337 
Ballogan,  523 
Balm,  Field,  351 

Stinking,  358 
Balsam,  Old  Field,  443 

Sweet  WThite,  443 
Balsam-flowers,  234 
Balsam  Posy,  443 
Balsamweed,  Clammy,  444 


Bamboo,  Prickly,  83 
Barbarea  prcecox,  197 

verna,  197 

vulgaris,  196 
Barberry,  Common,  168 
Barley,  Little,  65 

Wall,  66 

Wild,  64 
Basil,  Field,  359 

Stone,  359 

Wild,  359 
Baughlan,  506 
Bean,  Blue,  228 

Pink,  254 

Small  Wild,  254 

Trailing  Wild,  253 
Beard-tongue,  Fox-glove,  381 
Bedstraw,  Rough,  398 
Beggar's  Buttons,  508 
Beggar's  Lice,  334 
Beggar-tick,  Big,  474 

Swamp,  475 
Beggar-ticks,  334,  473 
Behen,  148 
Bell-bind,  321 
Bell-flower,  Clasping,  408 

Creeping,  409 

Tall,  410 

Berberis  vulgaris,  168 
Berry,  Pigeon,  128 

Poison,  364 

Stubble,  364 
Berteroa,  Gray,  173 
Berteroa  incana,  173 
Bidens  aristosa,  478 

bipinnata,  477 

cernua,  476 

comosa,  475 

connata,  475 

frondosa,  473 

Icevis,  476 

trichosperma,  478 

vulgata,  474 
Bindweed,  Black,  104 

Blue,  363 

Bracted,  323 

European,  321 

Field,  321 

Great,  323 

Hedge,  105,  323 

Knot,  104 
Birds  as  weed  destroyers,  10 


INDEX 


573 


Birdseed,  504 
Blackberry,  Running,  211 
Black-brush,  207 
Black-eyed  Susan,  462 
Black  Sampson,  463 
Bladder  Ketmia,  282 
Bladder-pod,  411 
Blanket-flower,  484 
Blanket-leaf,  377 
Elite,  Strawberry,  110 

Mulberry,  110 
Blood-leaf,  126 
Blood-stanch,  439 
Bloodwort,  486 

Mouse,  554 
Bloom-fell,  237 
Blowball,  535 
Blue  Bonnets,  520 
Bluebottle,  520 
Blue  Curls,  348 
Blue  Sailors,  525 
Blue-top,  367 
Boebera  papposa,  485 
Boehmeria  cylindrica,  90 
Baerhaavia  erecta,  132 
Boltonia  aster  aides,  428 
Boneset,  417 

Deerwort,  418 

False,  419 

Purple,  416 
Bouncing  Bet,  149 
Bracken,  17 
Brake,  Common,  17 

Meadow,  18 

Polypod,  18 

Turkey-foot,  17 
Bramble,  Prairie,  216 

Trailing,  211 
Brassica  alba,  186 

araensis,  184 

juncea,  185 

nigra,  187 

sinapistrum,  184 
Brauneria  purpurea,  463 
Brier,  Chain,  83 

Sand,  365 

Saw,  83 

Sweet,  214 
Bromus  hordeaceus,  57 

secalinus,  55 

tectorum,  58 
Broom,  Base,  224 


Broom,  —  Continued 

Dyer's,  224 
Broom-rape,  Branched,  387 

Clover,  389 

Hemp,  387 

Lesser,  389 

Louisiana,  390 

Tobacco,  387 
Bruisewort,  337 
Buckhorn,  392 

Bristly,  394 

Gray,  394 
Buck's-beard,  532 
Buckwheat,  Climbing  False,  105 

Hedge,  105 

Wild,  104 
Bugbane,  78 
Bugle,  Brown,  346 
Bugleweed,  Creeping,  346 
Buglewort,  360 
Bugloss,  Bitter,  531 

Small,  338 

Viper's,  342 
Bugseed,  116 
Bulrush,  Dark-green,  73 
Bunch-flower,  Common,  77 
Bunk,  535 
Bur,  Bathurst,  460 

Blue,  334 

Buffalo,  368 

Button,  461 

Cockspur,  34 

Colorado,  368 

Ditch,  461 

Dog,  332 

Paroquet,  297 

Sand, 368 

Sheep,  334,  461 
Burdock,  Common,  510 

Great,  508 

Prairie,  448 
Burseed,  334 
Burweed,  Hedgehog,  461 

Thorny,  460 

Yellow,  336 
Butter  and  Eggs,  379 
Buttercup,  Abortive,  155 

Bog,  154 

Bulbous,  157 

Creeping,  156 

Early,  156 

Meadow,  159 


574 


INDEX 


Buttercup,  —  Continued 

Tufted,  156 
Butterprint,  276 
Buttons,  Bitter,  496 

Cockle,  508 

Spanish,  521 
Buttonweed,  Rough,  400 

Smooth,  399 

Cabbage,  Hare's-ear,  189 
Cactus,  Ball,  290 

Bird's-nest,  291 

Globe,  290 

Missouri,  291 

Nipple,  291 

Purple,  290 

Russian,  117 
Calabazilla,  404 
Calamint,  359 
Calf  kill,  308,  310 
Caltrops,  517 

Land,  259 
Camas,  Death,  76 

Poison,  76 
Camelina  microcarpa,  182 

sativa,  181 
Campanula  americana,  410 

rapunculoides,  409 
Campion,  Bladder,  148 

Corn,  142 

Meadow,  143 

Red,  144 

White,  145 
Cancer  Jalap,  128 
Candlewick,  377 
Cankerwort,  535 
Cannabis  sativa,  86 
Capriola  Dactylon,  51 
CapseUa  Bursa-pastoris,  180 
Cardamine  bulbosa,  197 
Carduus  altissimus,  512 

arvensis,  514 

lanceolatus,  510 

ochrocentrus,  513 

odoratus,  512 
Carpetweed,  135 
Carrot,  Wild,  307 
Caseweed,  180 
Cassia  Chamcecrista,  221 

marilandica,  218 

occidentalis,  220 
Catchfly,  Forked,  147 


Catchfly,  —  Continued 

Hairy,  147 

Night-flowering,  147 

Sleepy,  146 
Catchweed,  397 
Cat  Fitch,  247 
Catgut,  238 
Catmint,  350 
Catnip,  350 

Cat's-ear,  Long-rooted,  528 
Cat's-foot,  351 

Field,  443 
Cat's  Milk,  272 
Celandine,  Great,  169 
Cenchrus  tribuloides,  34 
Centaur ea  benedicta,  522 

Calcitrapa,  517 

Cyanus,  520 

Jacea,  521 

melitensis,  519 

nigra,  521 

solstitialis,  518 
Centaury,  Black,  521 

Brown,  521 
Cerastium  arvense,  140 

milgatum,  141 
Chafeweed,  443 
Chamcenerion  angustifolium, 
Chamomile,  Corn,  489 

Fetid,  488 

Field,  489 

German,  492 

Rayless,  492 

Scentless,  491 

Wild,  492 

Yellow,  490 
Charlock,  184 

Jointed,  183 

White,  183 
Cheat,  55 
Cheeses,  280 
Chelidonium  majus,  169 
Chenopodium  album,  112 

ambrosioides,  108 

Botrys,  110 

capitatum,  110 

glaucum,  110 

hybridum,  112 

murale,  114 
Cherry,  Bladder,  370 

Choke,  218 

Wild  Black,  217 


INDEX 


575 


Chess,  55 

Early,  58 

Slender,  58 

Soft,  57 
Chickweed,  Common,  139 

Common  Mouse-ear,  141 

Field  Mouse-ear,  140 

Forked,  134 

Germander,  387 

Indian,  135 

Poison,  311 

Red,  311 

Whorled,  135 
Chicory,  525 
Children's  Bane,  301 
Chinaman's  Greens,  120 
Chondrilla  juncea,  534 
Chrysanthemum  Balsamita,  494 

Leucanthemum,  493 
Chrysopsis  mariana,  422 

villosa,  423 
Chufa,  70 

Cichorium  Intybus,  525 
Cicuta  maculata,  300 
Cinquefoil,  Common,  209 

Norway,  205 

Shrubby,  207 

Silvery,  206 
Circium  altissimum,  512 

arvense,  514 

lanceolatum,  510 

ochrocentrum,  513 

pumilum,  512 
Clay  weed,  501 
Cleavers,  397 
Cleome,  Pink,  199 
Cleome  serrulata,  199 
Climath,  274 
Cling  Rascal,  397 
Clinopodium  vulgare,  359 
Clotbur,  461 
Clover,  Black-seeded  Hop,  234 

Bokhara,  232 

Bur,  235 

Bush,  245 

Cabul,  232 

Cat's,  237 

Clammy,  198 

Devil,  387 

Hare-foot,  229 

Hart's,  234 

Hop,  231 


Clover,  —  Continued 

King's,  234 

Old  Field,  229 

Pin,  258 

Pussy,  229 

Rabbit-foot,  229 

Spiny,  460 

Stinking,  198,  199 

Stone,  229 

Tree,  232 
Clown's  Heal,  357 
Cnicus  benedictus,  522 
Cocash,  435 
Cockle,  China,  151 

Clammy,  147 

Corn,  142 

Cow,  151 

Pink,  151 

Purple,  142 

Spring,  151 

Sticky,  147 

White,  145 
Cocklebur,  461 

Dagger,  460 

Spiny,  460 
Coffee,  Magdad,  220 

Negro,  220 

Wild,  401 
Colewort,  538 
Coltsfoot,  501 

Sweet,  502 
Comfrey,  337 
Cone-flower,  Long-headed,  464 

Prairie,  464 

Purple,  463 

Conium  maculatum,  300 
Conringia  orientalis,  189 
Convolvulus  arvensis,  321 

sepium,  323 
Copper-leaf,  262 
Coreopsis  lanceolata,  471 

tripteris,  472 
Corispermum  hyssopifolium,  116 

nitidum,  116 
Corn  Flower,  520 
Corn  Salad,  402 
Coronopus  didymus,  179 
Costmary,  494 
Coughwort,  501 
Cowbane,  Spotted,  300,  301 
Cow-bell,  148 
Cow-bind,  321 


576 


INDEX 


Cow-cress,  178 

Cycloloma  atriplicifolium,  106 

Cow-herb,  151 

Cynanchum  nigrum,  319 

Cow-poison,  164 

Cynodon  Dactylon,  51 

Cowthwort,  356 

Cynoglossum  officinale,  332 

Cracca  virginiana,  238 

Cynthia,  527 

Crane's-bill,  Small-flowered,  257 

Cyperus,  Baldwin's,  72 

Creeping  Jack,  200 

Hydra,  68 

Crepis  biennis,  550 

Straw-colored,  71 

capillaris,  549 

Cyperus  diandrus,  67 

wrens,  549 

echinatus,  72 

Cress,  Bastard,  174 

esculentus,  70 

Bitter,  197 

rotundus,  68 

Bulbous,  197 

strigosus,  71 

Carpet,  179 

Field,  178 

Daisy,  Blue  Spring,  436 

Lesser  Wart,  179 

Cone-headed,  464 

Penny,  174 

Michaelmas,  434 

Rocket,  196 

Midsummer,  493 

St.  Barbara's,  196 

Ox-eye,  462,  493 

Spring,  197 

Red,  554 

Swine,  179 

Stinking,  458 

Winter,  196 

White,  493 

Crosswort,  417 

Yellow,  462 

Crotalaria  sagittalis,  222 

Dandelion,  535 

Croton  capitatus,  261 

Dwarf,  527 

Crowfoot,  Celery-leaved,  154 

Fall,  530 

Cursed,  154 

False,  548 

Ditch,  154 

Red-seeded,  537 

Early,  156 

Danthonia  spicata,  50 

Small-flowered,  155 

Darkey-heads,  462 

Tall,  159 

Darnel,  Bearded,  60 

Crownbeard,  Golden,  470 

Common,  59 

Sunflower,  469 

Poison,  60 

Crown-of-the-Field,  142 

White,  60 

Crowtoes,  237 

Datura  Metel,  376 

Cucumber,  One-seeded  Bur,  405 

Stramonium,  375 

Climbing  Wild,  406 

Tatula,  376 

Four-seeded  Bur,  406 

Daucus  carota,  307 

Star,  405 

Death-of-Man,  301 

Cucurbita  fcetidissima,  404 

Delphinium  azureum,  163 

perennis,  404 

bicolor,  165 

Cudweed,  Clammy,  444 

carolinianum,  163 

Childing,  441 

Consolida,  161 

Low,  445 

glaucum,  164 

Marsh,  445 

Menziesii,  166 

Winged,  444 

trollifolium,  162,  167 

Cuphea,  Clammy,  291 

Desmodium  canadense,  244 

Cuphea  petiolata,  291 

canescens,  243 

Cuscuta  arvensis,  328 

Devil,  Blue,  342 

Epilinum,  327 

King,  557 

Epithymum,  324 

Yellow,  556 

Gronovii,  328 

Devil's  Apple,  375 

INDEX 


577 


Devil's  Bootjack,  473 
Devil's  Fig,  172 
Devil's  Grandmother,  415 
Devil's  Grass,  61 
Devil's  Gut,  324 
Devil's  Hair,  324 
Devil's  Ironweed,  543 
Devil's  Milk,  169 
Devil's  Paintbrush,  554 
Devil's  Plague,  307 
Devil's  Shoe-strings,  238 
Devil's  Trumpet,  375 
Devil's  Vine,  323 
Devil's  Weed,  554 
Dewberry,  211 
Dewtry,  375 
Digitalis  purpurea,  382 
Digitaria  humifusa,  27 

sanguinalis,  26 
Dillweed,  488 
Diodia  leres,  400 
Diplotaxis  muralis,  188 
Dipsacus  sylvestris,  403 
Dock,  Bitter,  94 

Broad-leaved,  94 

Butter,  502 

Butterfly,  502 

Curled,  91 

Dove,  501 

Elf,  446 

Flea,  502 

Narrow-leaved,  91 

Patience,  90 

Prairie,  448 

Round,  280 

Sour,  94 

Succory,  523 

Velvet,  377,  446 

Willow-leaved,  93 

Yellow,  91 
Dodder,  Clover,  324 

Common,  328 

Field,  328 

Flax,  327 

Onion,  328 

Wild,  328 

Dogbane,  Spreading,  312 
Dog  Fennel,  488 

Yellow,  485 
Dog  Finkle,  488 
Dog's  Tongue,  332 
Doon-head-clock,  535 

2P 


Drop-flower,  553 
Drop-seed,  Indian,  47 

Mexican,  43 
Duck-retter,  78 
Duckweed,   152 
Duscle,  364 
Dyssodia  papposa,  485 

Earth-gall,  78 
Echinochloa  crus-galli,  30 
Echinocystis  lobata,  406 
Echinospermum  Lappula,  334 
Echium  vulgare,  342 
Elecampane,  446 
Elephantopus  tomentosus,  415 
Elephant's  Foot,  Woolly,  415 
Eleusine  indica,  53 
Ellisia  Nyctelea,  330 
Enslenia  albida,  319 
Epilobium  angusti folium,  294 
Equisetum  arvense,  20 
Eragrostis  major,  54 

megastachya,  54 

pilosa,  54 

Erechtites  hieracifolia,  503 
Erigeron  annuus,  438 

canadensis,  439 

philadelphicus,  437 

pulchellus,  436 

ramosus,  439 
E radium  cicutarium,  258 

moschatum,  258 
Erysimum  cheiranthoides,  196 
Eupatorium  ageratoides,  418 

ccelestinum,  419 

perfoliatum,  417 

purpureum,  416 

urticcefolium,  418 
Euphorbia  corollata,  268 

Cyparissias,  272 

dentata,  269 

Esula,  271 

Helioscopia,  272 

heterophylla,  270 

hirsuta,  265 

maculata,  266 

marginata,  267 

nutans,  264 

Preslii,  264 

serpyllifolia,  263 
Euthamia  graminifolia,  426 
Evening  Primrose,  295 


578 


INDEX 


Everlasting,  Clammy,  444 

Common,  443 

Early,  441 

Fragrant,  443 

Many-headed,  443 

Mouse-ear,  441 

Plantain-leaved,  441 

Spring,  441 

'  Sweet,  443 
Eye-bright,  264 

Farewell  Summer,  434 
Fat  Hen,  112 
Felonwort,  169,  363 
Feltwort,  377 
Fern,  Eagle,  17 

Parsley,  495 

Sensitive,  18 

Upland,  17 
Feverwort,  401,  417 
Figwort,  Maryland,  380 
Filaree,  258 
Fireball,  107 
Fireweed,  294,  336,  503 
Five-finger,  Common,  209 

Tall,  205 
Flat-top,  412 
Flax,  False,  181 

Wild,  181 
Fleabane,  Canada,  439 

Daisy,  438 

Lowground,  437 

Philadelphia,  437 
Flicker-tail,  64 
Flower,  August,  530 

Blister,  159 

Butter,  159 

Chester,  207 

Cuckoo,  143 

Fall,  433 

Joseph's,  533 

Mist,  419 

Flower-of-an-Hour,  282 
Flower,  Poorland,  493 

Snake,  342 
Fluellin,  383 
Foalfoot,  501 
Fool's  Cicely,  303 
Fool's  Parsley,  303 
Forget-me-not,  Bur,  334 

Yellow,  336 
Four  o'clock,  Wild,  129 


Foxglove,  Purple,  362 
Foxtail,  Bent,  45 

Bristly,  33 

Green,  33 

Marsh,  45 

Water,  45 

Yellow,  31 
Franseria  discolor,  458 

tomentosa,  459 
Franseria,  White-leaved,  458 

Woolly,  459 
Frcelichia  floridana,  127 

Goertfieria  discolor,  458 

tomentosa,  459 
Gaillardia  aristata,  484 
Galeopsis  Tetrahit,  354 
Galingale,  Low,  67 

Yellow,  70 

Galinsoga  paniiflora,  480 
Galium  Aparine,  397 

asprellum,  398 
Gall-of-the-Earth,  653 
Garget,  128 
Garlic,  Crow,  80 

Field,  80 

Hedge,  190 

Meadow,  83 

Wild,  80,  174 
Gaura,  Biennial,  297 
Gaura  biennis,  297 

villosa,  298 
Gaura,  Woolly,  298 
Genista  tinctoria,  224 
Gentian,  Horse,  401 

Snake,  553 
Geranium,  Feather,  110 

Mint,  494 

Geranium  pusillum,  257 
Geranium,  Turnpike,  110 
Germander,  American,  347 
Geum  album,  210 

canadense,  210 
Gifola  germanica,  441 
Gilia  squarrosa,  329 
Gilia,  Sticky,  329 
Gill-ale,  351 

Gill-over-the-ground,  351 
Gipsy  Combs,  403 
Girasole,  467 
Glycyrrhiza  lepidota,  242 
Gnaphalium  decurrens,  444 


INDEX 


579 


Gnaphalium  obtusifolium,  443 

polycephalum,  443 

uliginosum,  445 
Goafs-beard,  Purple,  533 

Virginia,  527 

Yellow,  532 
Goat's  Rue,  238 
Goldcup,  159 
Golden  Jerusalem,  462 
Golden  Moss,  200 
Goldenrod,  Bushy,  426 

Canada,  425 

Field,  423 

Fragrant,  426 

Gray,  423 

Hard-leaved,  426 

Hoary,  424 

Low,  423 

Narrow-leaved,  426 

Soft,  424 

Stiff,  426 

Tall,  425 

Gold  of  Pleasure,  181 
Gonolobus  lasvis,  319 
Good-night-at-noon,  282 
Gooseberry,  Dwarf  Cape,  370 
Goosefoot,  Maple-leaved,  112 

Nettle-leaved,  114 

Oak-leaved,  110 

White,  112 
Gosmore,  528 
Go-to-bed-at-noon,  532 
Gourd,  Missouri,  404 

Wild,  404 
Gowan,  Horse,  492 

Ling,  554 

Witch's,  535 

Yellow,  535 
Grass,  Aleppo,  22 

Annual  Ray,  60 

Auger-seed,  39 

Barley,  66 

Barnyard,  30 

Bear,  34 

Bermuda,  51 

Bonnet,  50 

Bottle,  33 

Bur,  34 

Canary,  37 

Candy,  54 

Cockspur,  30 

Coco,  68 


Grass,  —  Continued 
Couch,  61 
Crab,  26,  53 
Crow-foot,  53 
Dog,  61 

Dog's-tooth,  51 
Downy  Brome,  58 
Drop-seed,  44 
Egyptian,  22 
Faitour's,  271 
False  Guinea,  22 
Finger,  26 
German  Knot,  133 
Goose,  53,  208,  397 
Grip,  397 
Hairy  Spear,  54 
Hedgehog,  34 
Holy,  37 
Indian  Rush,  47 
Johnson,  22 
Knot,  97 
Knot-root,  43 
Mat,  97 
Means,  22 
Milk,  402 
Mystery,  76 
Needle,  34,  40,  42 
Nut,  68 
Old  Witch,  28 
Perennial  Rye,  57 
Pigeon,  31 
Pin,  258 
Pine,  20 
Poison  Rye,  60 
Porcupine,  39 
Poverty,  41,  50 
Pungent  Meadow,  54 
Pussy,  31 
Quack,  61 
Quack  Salver'a,272 
Quitch,  61 
Ray,  59 
Rib,  392 
Rice  Cut,  35 
Ripple,  392 
Sand,  42 
Scratch,  397 
Scurvy,  197 
Scutch,  51,  61 
Sedge,  21 
Seneca,  37 
Sheathed  Rush,  46 


580 


INDEX 


Grass,  —  Continued 

Gum-  weed,  420 

Slender  Meadow,  54 

Gut-weed,  537 

Small  Crab,  27 

Small  Rush,  47 

Hardhack,  204  " 

Smut,  47 

Yellow,  207 

Snake,  20,  54 

Hardheads,  521 

Sour,  95,  255 

Hardock,  508 

Sprouting  Panic,  29 

Harvest  Lice,  475 

Stink,  54 

Hawkbit,  Autumn,  530 

Summer,  31 

Hawksbeard,  Narrow-leaved,  550 

Sweet,  37 

Rough,  550 

Switch,  30 

Smooth,  549 

Syrian,  22 

Hawkweed,  Field,  556 

Tickle,  28,  64 

Hairy,  557 

Tine,  247 

Mouse-ear,  554 

Tongue,  176 

Orange,  554 

Tufted  Spear,  54 

Heal-all,  352,  380 

Tumbleweed,  28 

Heart-of-the-Earth,  352 

Twitch,  61 

Heartweed,  102 

Vanilla,  37 

Hedeoma  pulegioides,  358 

Virginia  Beard,  21 

Hedge-burs,  397 

Wart,  272 

Hedge  Taper,  377 

Weather,  39 

Helenium  autumnale,  481 

Wheat,  61 

nudiflorum,  482 

Wildcat,  50 

tenufolium,  483 

WQd  Oat,  50 

Helianthus  annuus,  465 

Willard's  Brome,  55 

scaberrimus,  466 

Wire,  44,  50,  53,  74 

tuberosus,  467 

Wood,  43 

Heliotrope,  Indian,  331 

Yard,  53 

Heliotr  opium  indicum,  331 

Yellow  Nut,  70 

Hellbind,  324 

Graymile,  340 

Hellebore,  American,  78 

Grim-the-Collier,  554 

False,  78 

Grindelia  lanceolata,  421 

Green,  78 

squarrosa,  420 

Swamp,  78 

Grinsel,'504 

Hellroot,  389 

Gromwell,  Common,  340 

Hemlock,  Deadly,  300 

Corn,  339 

Poison,  300 

Field,  339 

Water,  301 

Gray,  341 

Hemp,  86 

Ground  Bur-nut,  259 

American,  314 

Ground-cherry,  Low  Hairy,  370 

Bastard,  354 

Mexican,  369 

Black  Indian,  315 

Prairie,  371 

Water,  125 

Virginia,  371 

Wild,  354,  454 

Ground-hele,  383 

Henbane,  Black,  373 

Groundsel,  Common,  504 

Henbit,  355 

Cress-leaved,  505 

Heracleum  lanatum,  306 

Grundy  Swallow,  507 

Herb,  Balsam,  494 

Gumbo,  283 

Barbara's,  196 

Gum-plant,  Broad-leaved,  420 

Carpenter's,  346,  352 

Narrow-leaved,  421 

Felon,  496,  554 

INDEX 


581 


Herb,  —  Continued 

Fuller's,  149 

Healing,  337 

Holy,  343 

Sherard,  396 

Viper's,  342 
Herba  Impia,  441 
Herb-bane,  389 
Herb-of-St.  Bennet,  300 
Herb-of-St.  John,  284 
Herb-of-the-Cross,  343 
Heron's-bill,  258 
Herrick,  184 
Hibiscus  esculentus,  283 

Trionum,  282 
Hieracium  aurantiacum,  564 

florentinum,  558 

fiorihundum,  558 

Gronmii,  557 

Pilosella,  554 

pratense,  557 
Hierochloa  odorata,  37 
Highwater  Shrub,  451 
Hoarwort,  441 
Hock-heal,  352 
Hog's  Bean,  373 
Hogweed,  132 
Hogwort,  261 
Honeybloom,  312 
Honeylotus,  232 
Honeysuckle,  Ground,  237 
Hordeum  jubatum,  64 

murinam,  66 

pusillum,  65 
Horehound,  349 

Ditch,  360 

Virginia,  360 

Water,  360 
Horse  Cane,  454 
Horse  Elder,  446 
Horse  Gowan,  492 
Horse  Nettle,  365 
Horse  Sorrel,  95 
Horse  Thyme,  359 
Horse-heal,  446 
Horse-hoof,  501 
Horse-knobs,  521 
Horsetail,  Field,  20 
Horseweed,  439,  454,  543 
Houndsbene,  349 
Hound's  Berry,  364 
Hound's  Tongue,  332 


Hurr-bur,  508 
Hurtsickle,  520 
Hyoscyamus  niger,  373 
Hypericum  mutilum,  285 

perforatum,  284 

prolificum,  285 
Hypochceris  radwata,  528 
Hyssop,  Wild,  344 

Impudent  Lawyer,  379 
Indian  cup,  449 
Indian  Eleusine,  53 
Indian  Fig,  288 
Indian  Physic,  314 
Indian  Poke,  78 
Ink  Berry,  128 
Inula  Helenium,  446 
Ipecac,  Milk,  312 

Wild,  401 

Ipomcea  pandurata,  320 
Iresine  paniculata,  126 
Ironweed,  Illinois,  414 

Tall,  412 

Western,  413 

Winged,  468 

Yellow,  468 
Isnardia  palustris,  293 
Itchweed,  78 
Iva  axillaris,  453 

ciliata,  450 

xanthifolia,  451 
Ivray,  60 
Ivy,  Ground,  351 

Poison,  274 

Three-leaved,  274 

Jack-by-the-hedge,  190 
Jacob's  Staff,  377 
Jatropha  stimulosa,  260 
Jerusalem,  Golden,  462 
Jerusalem  Oak,  110 
Jerusalem  Star,  533 
Joe-Pye  Weed,  416 
Juba's  Bush,  126 
Juncus  effusus,  75 

tennis,  74 
Jute,  American,  276 

Kale,  Field,  184 
Kalmia  angustifolia,  308 
Kedluck,  184 
Kill-wart,  169 


582 


INDEX 


Kingcup,  159 
King  Devil,  556 
Kinghead,  454 
Klinkweed,  189 
Knapweed,  Black,  521 

Brown,  521 

Rayed,  521 
Knawel,  133 
Kneiffia  fruticosa,  296 
Knight's  Spur,  161 
Knit-back,  337 
Knotgrass,  German,  133 
Knotweed,  98 

Biting,  101 

Bushy,  98 

Erect,  98 

Prostrate,  97 

Spotted,  102 
Kochia  scoparia,  107 
Krigia  amplexicaulus,  527 

virginica,  527 
Kuhnia  eupatorioides,  419 

Lactuca  canadensis,  542 

pulchellus,  544 

sagittifolia,  543 

scariola,  540 

spicata,  546 

villosa,  545 

Lady-by-the-gate,  149 
Lady-fingers,  382 
Lady's  Thumb,  102 
Lambkill,  308 
Lamb's  Lettuce,  402 
Lamb's  Quarters,  112 
Lamium  amplexicaule,  355 
Lappula  echinata,  334 

floribunda,  335 

virginica,  334 
Lapsana  communis,  523 
Larkheel,  161 
Larkspur,  Azure-flowered,  163 

Carolina,  163 

Dwarf,  162 

Field,  161 

Large,  164 

Purple,  165 

Sky-blue,  163 

Small,  166 

Smooth,  164 

Tall  Mountain,  164 

Western,  167 


Lathyrus  latifolius,  250 

pratensis,  252 

tuberosus,  250 
Laurel,  Dwarf,  308 

Narrow-leaved,  308 

Sheep,  308 
Leersia  oryzoides,  35 
Legouzia  perfoliata,  408 
Leontodon  autumnalis,  530 
Leonurus  Cardiaca,  356 
Lepachys  columnaris,  464 
Lepidium  apetalum,  178 

campestre,  178 

virginicum,  176 
Lespedeza  violacia,  245 
Lettuce,  Arrow-leaved,  543 

Blue,  544 

'Hairy-veined,  545 

Hare's,  538 

Prickly,  540 

Rough  White,  552 

Showy,  544 

Smooth  White,  551 

Tall  Blue,  546 

Wild,  542 
Lily,  Hedge",  323 

Jamestown,  375 
Linaria  vulgaris,  379 
Lion's-ear,  356 
Lion's-foot,  553 
Lion's-tail,  356 
Lion's-tooth,  530 
Liquorice,  Wild,  242 
Lithospermum  arvense,  339 

canescens,  341 

officinale,  340 
Littlegood,    272 
Littlewale,  340 
Live-forever,  201,  202 
Live-long,  202 
Lobelia,  Great,  410 
Lobelia  inflata,  411 

syphilitica,  410 
Loco,  Purple,  239 

Stemless,  241 

Stemmed,  239 

Texas,  239 

Loco-vetch,  Colorado,  241 
Loco-weed,  White,  241 

Woolly,  239 
Loggerheads,  521 
Lolium  perenne,  59 


INDEX 


583 


Lolium  temulentum,  60 

Marsh  Elder,  Burweed,  451 

London  Pride,  149 

Rough,  450 

Loosestrife,  Clammy,  291 

Small-flowered,  453 

False,  293 

Marvel,  349 

Lotus  corniculatus,  237 

Masterwort,  306 

Ludvigia  alter  ni  folia,  292 

Matricaria  Chamomilla,  492 

palustris,  293 

inodora,  491 

Lupine,  Low,  229 

Matricaria  matricarioides,  492 

Nebraska,  226 

suaveolens,  492 

Silvery,  228 

Matweed,  Spotted,  266 

Wild,  225 

Maul,  280 

Lupinus  argenteus,  228 

May-pop,  287 

perennis,  225 

Mayweed,  488 

plattensis,  226 

Corn,  491 

pusillus,  229 

False,  485 

Lychnis  alba,  145 

Yellow,  485 

dioica,  144 

Meadow  Queen,  203 

Lychnis,  Evening,  145 

Meadow-sweet,  203 

Lychnis  Flos-cuculi,  143 

Willow-leaved,  204 

Githago,  142 

Woolly,  204 

vespertina,  145 

Mecha-Meck,  320 

Lycopsis  arvensis,  388 

Medicago  denticulata,  235 

Lycopus  virginicus,  360 

hispida,  235 

Lygodesmia  juncea,  546 

lupulina,  234 

Lygodesmia,  Rush-like,  546 

Medick,  Black,  234 

Lyonia  mariana,  310 

Hop,  234 

Toothed,  235 

Macrocalyx  Nyclelea,  330 

Winter,  235 

Madder,  Blue  Field,  396 

Meibomia  canadensis,  244 

Madia  sativa,  479 

canescens,  243 

Madnep,  305 

Melanthium  virginicum,  77 

Mallow,  Common,  280 

Melilot,  White,  232 

Dwarf,  280 

Yellow,  234 

Indian,  276 

Melilotus  alba,  232 

Musk,  281 

officinalis,  234 

Red  False,  277 

Running,  280 

Mentha  piperita,  361 

Thistle,  278 

spicata,  362 

Venice,  282 

Mercury,  Black,  274 

Malva  moschata,  281 

Scotch,  382 

rotundifolia,  280 

Three-seeded,  262 

Malvastrum  coccineum,  277 

Micrampelis  lobata,  406 

Mamillaria  missouriensis,  291 

Milfoil,  486 

vivipara,  290 

Milk,  Mouse,  272 

Man-of-the-Earth,  320 

Wolf's,  272 

Mare's-tail,  439 

Milkweed,  Climbing,  319 

Marigold,  Bur,  473 

Common,  317 

Fetid,  485' 

Orange,  315 

Nodding  Bur,  476 

Poison,  268 

Markweed,  274 

Showy,  317 

Marrube,  349 

Swamp,  316 

Marrubium  vulgare,  349 

Trumpet,  542 

584 


INDEX 


Milkweed,  —  Continued 

Navarretia  squarrosa,  329 

Wandering,  312 

Neckweed,  385 

White-flowered,  268 

Needle-and-thread,  40 

Milk  Witch,  535 

Needles,  Spanish,  477 

Millet,  Arabian,  22 

Nepeta  cataria,  250 

Evergreen,  22 

hederacea,  251 

Morocco,  22 

Neslia  paniculata,  182 

Polish,  26 

Nettle,  Bee,  354,  355 

Wild,  31 

Blind,  355 

Mint,  Brandy,  361 

Bull,  260,  365 

Garden,  362 

Dead,  355,  357 

Lamb,  361,  362 

Dog,  354 

Mackerel,  362 

False,  90 

Our  Lady's,  362 

Great,  88 

Pepper,  361 

Hedge,  357 

Spear,  362 

Horse,  365 

Squaw,  358 

Slender,  87 

Mollugo  verticillata,  135 

Spurge,  260 

Moon-penny,  493 

Stinging,  88,  354 

Morning  Glory,  Small-flowered,  321 

Western,  89 

Morning  Sun,  532 

White  Horse,  367 

Moss,  Golden,  200 

Nicandra  Physalodes,  373 

Mother's  Hearts,  180 

Niggerhead,  462 

Motherwort,  356 

Nightshade,  Beaked,  368 

Mouse-ear,  445 

Bitter-sweet,  363 

Mugwort,  Common,  496 

Black,  364 

Muhlenbergia  diffusa,  44 

Common,  364 

mexicana,  43 

Deadly,  364 

Schreberi,  44 

Fetid,  373 

Mullein,  Common,  377 

Prickly,  367 

Moth,  378 

Silver-leaved,  367 

Mustard,  Ball,  182 

Woody,  363 

Black,  187 

Nimble  Kate,  405 

Garlic,  190 

Nimble  Will,  44 

Gray  Tansy,  194 

Nipplewort,  523 

Green  Tansy,  194 

Dwarf,  524 

Hare's-ear,  189 

None-such,  234 

Hedge,  191 

Noon-flower,  532 

Indian,  185 

Nyctelea,  330 

Mithridate,  178 

Stinking,  174 

Oats,  Wild,  48 

Treacle,  195 

CEnothera  biennis,  295 

Tumbling,  192 

fruticosa,  296 

White,  186 

Okra,  283 

Wild,  184 

Old  Fog,  50 

Wormse'ed,  195 

Old  Maid's  Bonnets,  225 

Myzorrhiza  ludomciana,  390 

Old  Maid's  Pink,  149 

Old  Man's  Hands,  288 

Nabalus  asper,  552 

Onagra  biennis,  295 

racemosus,  551 

Onion,  Wild,  80 

serpentarius,  553 

Onoclea  sensibilis,  18 

Nap-at-noon,  532 

Onopordum  Acanthium,  516 

INDEX 


585 


Opium,  Wild,  542 

Pea,  —  Continued 

Opuntia  fragilis,  287 

Turkey,  238 

humifusa,  288 

Peas,  Cat,  247 

Rafinesque,  288 

Craw,  252 

Orache,  Spreading,  114 

Mouse,  252 

Orobanche  ludoviciana,  390 

Pellitory,  Wild,  487 

minor,  389 

Pennyroyal,  American,  358 

ramosa,  387 

Bastard,  358 

Orpine,  Biting,  200 

Mock,  358 

Common,  202 

Pentstemon  loevigatus,  381 

Owl's  Crown,  441 

Pepper,  Bird's,  176 

Oxalis  corniculata,  256 

Poor  Man's,  178 

stricta,  255 

Wall,  200 

Ox-tongue,  Bristly,  531 

Peppergrass,  Common,  176 

Oxwort,  502 

Field,  178 

Ozybaphus  hirsutiis,  130 

Green-flowered,  178 

linearis,  131 

Peppermint,  361 

nyctagineus,  129 

Persicary,  Glandular,  100 

Oxytropis  Lamberii,  241 

Peach-leaved,  102 

Oyster,  Vegetable,  533 

Petasites  palmatus,  502 

vulgatus,  502 

Painted  Leaf,  270 

Phalaris  canariensis,  37 

Panicum  capillare,  28 

Physalis  ixocarpa,  369 

crus-galli,  30 

lanceolata,  371 

dichotomiflorum,  29 

pubescens,  370 

proliferum,  29 

virginiana,  371 

virgatum,  30 

Phytolacca  decandra,  128 

Papaver  dubium,  171 

Pick-purse,  136 

Rhteas,  170 

Picris,  Bugloss,  531 

Parsley,  Dog's,  303 

Pier  is  echoides,  531 

False,  303 

Pieris  mariana,  310 

Fool's,  303 

Pigweed,  Matted,  123 

Spotted,  300 

Prostrate,  123 

Parsnip,  Cow,  306 

Redroot,  120 

Field,  305 

Rough,  120 

Meadow,  304 

Russian,  119 

Wild,  305 

Smooth,  112 

Woolly,  306 

Tumbling,  122 

Parsonia  petiolala,  291 

White,  122 

Passiflora  incarnata,  287 

Winged,  106 

Passion-flower,  287   • 

Pilewort,  380,  503 

Passion-vine,  287 

Pimpernel,  Scarlet,  311 

Pastinaca  saliva,  305 

Pine,  Meadow,  20 

Paul's  Betony,  360,  383 

Pinetop,  20 

Pea,  222,  225 

Pink,  Hedge,  149 

Blue,  228,  229 

Meadow,  143 

Everlasting,  250 

Mullein,  142 

Hoary,  238 

Plant,  Compass,  447,  540 

Large-flowered  Sensitive,  221 

Cruel,  270 

Meadow,  252 

Cup,  449 

Partridge,  221 

Enchanter's,  343 

Tuberous  Wild,  250 

Fever,  295 

586 


INDEX 


Plant,  —  Continued 

Ginger,  495 

Mosquito,  358 

Oyster,  533 

Paint,  341 

Pearl,  340 

Polar,  447 

Purse,  202 

Rosin,  448 

Shirt-button,  280 

Shoofly,  282 

Sweating,  417 

Umbrella,  129 

Yellow  Locust,  218 
Plantago  arenaria,  396 

aristata,  394 

lanceolata,  392 

major,  391 

media,  394 

Rugelli,  392 
Plantain,  Birdseed,  391 

Black,  392 

Broad-leaved,  391 

Common,  391 

Dooryard,  391 

Hoary,  394 

Large-bracted,  394 

Narrow-leaved,  392 

Pale,  392 

Red-stem,  392 

Robin's,  436 

Rugel's,  392 

Sandwort,  396 

White,  441 

Whorled,  396 

Woolly,  394 
Plume-seed,  419 
Poinsettia  heterophylla,  270 
Poison,  Beaver,  301 

Dog,  303 

Sheep,  308 
Poison  Ash,  273 
Poison  Creeper,  274 
Poison  Dogwood,  273 
Poison  Elder,  273 
Poison  Ivy,  274 
Poison  Oak,  274 
Poison  Rhubarb,  502 
Poison  Sego,  76 
Poison  Stinkweed,  300 
Poison  Sumac,  273 
Poisonweed,  311 


Pokeberry,  128 
Poke,  Virginia,  128 
Poke  weed,  128 
Polanisia  graveolens,  198 
Polygonum  aviculare,  97 

convolvulus,  104 

emersum,  99 

erectum,  98 

Hydropiper,  101 

hydropiper  aides,  102 

Muhlenbergii,  99 

pennsyhanicum,  100 

Persicaria,  102 

ramosissimum,  98 

scandens,  105 
Poorland  Flower,  493 
Poor-man's  Weather-glass,  311 
Poor  Robin,  436 
Pop-dock,  382 
Poppy,  Bubble,  148 

Corn,  170 

Field,  170 

Long  Smooth-fruited,  171 

Mexican,  172 

Prickly,  172 

Thistle,  172 
Portulaca  oleracea,  152 
Portulaca,  Wild,  152 
Potato,  Canada,  467 

Hog's,  76 
PotentUla  Anserina,.208 

argentea,  206 

canadensis,  209 

fruticosa,  207 

monspeliensis,  205 
Prenanth.es  aspera,  552 

racemosa,  551 

serpentaria,  553 
Prickly  Pear,  287 

Brittle,  288 
Pricket,  200 
Primrose,  Day,  296 

Evening,  295 

Field,  295 

Perennial,  296 

Tree,  295 

Prunella  vulgaris,  352 
Prunus  serotina,  217 

virginiana,  218 
Pleris  aquilina,  17 
Puccoon,  Hoary,  341 
Pudding-bags,  202 


INDEX 


587 


Pumpkin,  Fetid  Wild,  404 

Root,  Amy,  314 

Purplehead,  100 

Bitter,  312 

Purse,  Shepherd's,  180 

Bowman's,  314 

Purslane,  152 

Choctaw,  314 

Ditch,  293 

Devil's,  389 

Milk,  266 

Dropsy,  314 

Water,  293 

Emetic,  411 

Winter,  385 

Gag,  411 

Pusley,  152 

Ginger,  501 

Pussy-toes,  441 

Gravel,  416 

Pyrrhopappus  carolinianus,  548 

Insane,  373 

Kidney,  416 

Quaker  Lady,  203 

Life,  507 

Queen  Anne's  Lace,  307 

Musquash,  301 

Queen-of-the-meadow,  416 

Orange,  315 

Pleurisy,  315 

Rabbit-ears,  189 

Rattlesnake,  553 

Radish,  Wild,  183 

Slippery,  337 

Ragged  Cup,  449 

White,  315 

Ragged  Robin,  143,  520 

Rij.-'i:  arkansana,  216 

Ragweed,  Bur,  458 

eglanteria,  214 

Common,  455 

rubiginosa,  214 

False,  451 

Rose,  Canker,  170 

Giant,  454 

Corn,  142 

Great,  454 

Cotton,  441 

Perennial,  457 

Prairie,  216 

Ragwort,  Common,  506 

Running  Brier,  216 

Golden,  507 

Rosemary,  White,  432 

Tansy,  506 

Rose  Petty,  436 

Ranstead,  379 

Rotation  of  crops,  5 

Ranunculus  abortivus,  155 

Rubus  procumbens,  211 

acris,  159 

villosus,  211 

bulbosus,  157 

Rudbeckia  hirta,  462 

fascicularis,  156 

Ruddy-stem,  435 

repens,  156 

Rumex  Acetosa,  94 

sceleratus,  154 

Acetosella,  95 

Raphanus  Raphanistrum,  183 

crispus,  91 

Ratibida  columnaris,  464 

mexicanus,  93 

Rattlebox,  222,  292 

obtusifolia,  94 

Rattleweed,  White,  241 

Patientia,  90 

Redroot,  339 

Rush,  Bog,  75 

Redshanks,  102 

Club,  73 

Redstalk,  435 

Common,  75 

Redstem,  291 

Field,  74 

Redweed,  128,  170 

Green  Foxtail,  20 

Rhus  radicans,  274^ 

Meadow,  73 

Toxicodendron,  274 

Slender,  74 

Vernix,  273 

Soft,  75 

Ribwort,  392 

Yard,  74 

Gray,  394 

Rutland  Beauty,  323 

Rocket,  Sand,  188 

Yellow,  196 

Sage-of-Bethlehem,  365 

588 


INDEX 


Sage,  Mountain,  500 

Pasture,  499 

Wild,  499 

Wood,  347 

Wormwood,  499 
Sage-brush,  500 
Sage-bush,  500 

Low,  499 
Sage-wood,  500 
St.  Jameswort,  506 
St.  John's-wort,  284 

Dwarf,  286 

Shrubby,  285 
Salsify,  Garden,  533 

Meadow,  532 
Salsola  Kali,  117 
Sandbur,  34 
Sandspur,  34 
Sandweed,  136 
Sandwort,  396 

Thyme-leaved,  137 
Sanguinary,  486 
Sanicle,  299,  418 
Sanicula  canadensis,  299 

marilandica,  300 
Saponaria  officinalis,  149 

Vaccaria,  151 
Sarsaparilla,  False,  83 
Satureja  vulgaris,  359 
Sauce-alone,  190 
Savastana  odorata,  27 
Scabious,  Sweet,  438 
Scabish,  Meadow,  435 
Scabwort,  446 
Scirpus  atrovirens,  73 
Scleranthus  annuus,  133 
Scoke,  128 
Scourwort,  149 
Scrophularia  leporella,  381 

marilandica,  380 
Scrub-bush,  432 
Sedge,  Broom,  21 

Coco,  68 

Nut,  68 
Sedum  acre,  200 

purpureum,  202 

stoloniferum,  201 

Telepheum,  202 
Seed-box,  292 
Self-heal,  352 
Senebiera  didyma,  179 
Senecio  aureus,  507 


Senecio  Jacobcea,  506 

glabellus,  505 

lobatus,  505 

vulgaris,  504 
Senna,  American,  218 

Coffee,  220 

Wild,  218 
Setaria  glauca,  31 

verticillata,  33 

viridis,  33 

Sheepbur,  Western,  335 
Sheepfoot,  237 
Sheepkill,  310 
Sheep  Poison,  255 
Shepherd's  Clock,  311 
Shepherd's  Purse,  180 
Sherardia  arvensis,  396 
Sicklewort,  346,  352 
Sicyos  angulatus,  405 
Sida  acuta,  279 

spinosa,  278 

stipulata,  279 
Sida,  Spiny,  278 

Prickly,  278 
Silene  antirrhina,  146 

dichotoma,  147 

inflata,  148 

latifolia,  148 

noctiflora,  147 
Silphium  laciniatum,  447 

perforatum,  449 

terebinthinaceum,  448 
Simpler's  Joy,  343,  344 
Simson,  504 
Sinapis  alba,  186 

nigra,  187 
Sisymbrium  altissimum,  192 

incisum,  194 

officinale,  191 
Sitilias  caroliniana,  548 
Skellick,  184 
Skevish,  437 
Skunk-tail,  64 
Smartweed,  Common,  101 

Pennsylvania,  100 

Spotted,  102 

Swamp,  99 
Smilax  glauca,  83 
Snakeroot,  Black,  299 

White,  418 

Snapdragon,  Wild,  379 
Sneezeweed,  481 


INDEX 


589 


Sneezeweed,  Fine-leaved,  483 
Purple-headed,  482 
White,  487 
Sneezewort,  481 
Snow-on-the-mountain,  267 
Soapwort,  149 
Solanum  carolinense,  365 
Dulcamara,  363 
elceagnifolium,  367 
Solanum  nigrum,  364 

rostratum,  368 
Solidago  canadensis,  425 
graminifolia,  426 
mollis,  424 
nemoralis,  423 
rigida,  426 
Sonchus  arvensis,  537 
osper,  539 
oleraceus,  538 
Sorghum  halepense,  22 
Sorrel,  Field,  95 
Garden,  94 
Horse,  95 
Lady's,  256 
Redtop,  95 
Sheep,  95,  255 
Tall,  94 
Sowbane,  114 

Sow  Thistle,  Common,  538 
Corn,  537 
Creeping,  537 
Field,  537 
Spiny-leaved,  539 
Spatling,  148 
Spearmint,  362 
Speckled  John,  284 
Specularia  perfoliata,  408 
Speedwell,  Common,  383 
Corn,  386 
Field,  387 
Garden,  387 
Purslane,  385 
Thyme-leaved,  385 
Upland,  383 
Spergula  arvensis,  136 
Spermacoce  glabra,  399 
Spinach,  Strawberry,  110 
Spiraea  latifolia,  203 
salidfolia,  204 
tomentosa,  204 
Sporobolus  indicus,  47 
neglectus,  47 


Sporobolus  vaginiflorus,  46 
Spurge,  Creeping,  266 
Cypress,  272 
Flowering,  268 
Hairy,  265 
Leafy,  271 
Pasture,  264 
Spotted,  266 
Stubble,  264 
Sun, 272 

Thyme-leaved,  263 
Toothed,  269 
Upright  Spotted,  264 
Various-leaved,  270 
White-margined,  267 
Spurry,  136 
Spurwort,  396 
Squirrel-tail,  64 
Stachys  palustris,  357 
Stagger  Bush,  310 
Stagger  Weed,  162 
Staggerwort,  506 
Stammerwort,  455 
Star  Thistle,  Purple,  517 

Yellow,  518 
Starwort,  139 
Grassy,  138 
Yellow,  446 
Steeple-bush,  204 
Stellaria  graminea,  138 

media,  139 

Stickseed,  European,  334 
Large-flowered,  335 
Many-flowered,  336 
Purple-stemmed,  375 
Virginia,  334 
Western,  335 
Sticktight,  473 
Sticky-stem,  291 
Stinkweed,  488 
Stinking  Willie,  506 
Stipa  comata,  40 

spartea  39 
Stipa,  Western,  40 
Stitchwort,  Grass-leaved, 

Lesser,  138 

Stonecrop,  Mossy,  200 
Stork's-bill,  258 
Strophostyles  helvola,  253 
pauciflora,  254 
umbellata,  254 
Succory,  525 


590 


INDEX 


Succory,  Gum,  534 

Hog's,  524 

Lamb,  524 
Sumac,  Poison,  273 

Swamp,  273 
Sundial,  225 
Sundrops,  296 
Sunflower,  Brook,  476 

Common,  465 

False,  451,  481 

Red,  463 

Stiff,  466 

Swamp,  481 

Tickseed,  478 

Tuberous,  467 
Swallow-wort,  169,  315     ' 

Black,  319 

White,  319 
Sweet  Betty,  149 
Sweet-brier,  214 
Sweet-clover,  White,  232 

Yellow,  234 
Sweethearts,  397 
Sweetpea,  Tuberous,  250 

Wild,  238 
Sweetroot,  242 
Sweet  William,  Wild,  149 
Swine's-bane,  114 
Symphytum  officinale,  337 
Syntherisma  sanguinalis,  26 

linearis,  27 

Tanacetum  vulgare,  495 
Tank,  305 
Tansy,  495 

False,  497 

Goose,  208 

White,  487 
•  Wild,  455 
Taraxacum  erythrospermum,  537 

officinale,  536 
Tare,  246 

Hairy,  249 
Tar-fitch,  252 
Tarweed,  291,  479 

Yellow,  336 
Tea,  Jerusalem,  108 

Jesuit,  108 

Mexican,  108 

Spanish,  108 
Teasel,  403 
Tephrosia  mrginiana,  238 


Tetterwort,  169 
Teucrium  canadense,  347 
Thaspium  aureum,  304 
Thimbleweed,  160 
Thistle,  Asses',  516 

Bitter,  522 

Blessed,  522 

Blue,  342 

Bull,  365,  512 

Bur,  510 

Canada,  514 

Card,  403 

Common,  510 

Cotton,  516 

Creeping,  514 

Cursed,  514 

Downy,  516 

English,  540 

Fragrant,  512 

Holy,  522 

Horse,  512 

Lance-leaved,  519 

Maltese,  519 

Mexican,  368 

Milk,  537,  538,  540 

Napa,  519 

Our  Lady's,  522 

Pasture,  512 

Perennial,  514 

Plume,  512 

Queen  Mary's,  516 

Roadside,  512 

Russian,  117 

St.  Barnaby's,  518 

St.  Benedict's,  522 

Scotch,  516 

Silver,  516 

Spear,  510 

Spotted,  522 

Swine,  537 

Tall,  512 

Texas,  368 

Tumbling,  117 

Water,  403 

Yellow-spined,  513 
Thlaspi  arvense,  174 
Thorn,  Maize,  517 
Thornapple,  375 

Hairy,  376 
Purple,  376 
Thoroughwort,  417 
Thousand-leaf,  486 


INDEX 


591 


Thunderwood,  273 
Ticks,  Seed,  243 

Wool,  243 
Tickseed,  Lance-leaved,  471 

Tall,  472 
Tick-trefoil,  Hoary,  243 

Showy,  244 
Timothy,  False,  45 
Tiniaria  scandens,  105 
Tithymal,  271 
Titters,  247 
Toadflax,  379 
Tobacco,  Indian,  411 

Ladies',  441 

Sailor's,  496 

Wild,  411 
Tocalote,  519 
Tomatillo,  369 
Tomato,  Husk,  370 

Strawberry,  369 
Tragopogon  porrifolius,  533 

pratensis,  532 
Tread-softly,  260,  365 
Trefoil,  Bird's-foot,  237 

Yellow,  234 
Tribulus  terrestris,  259 
Trichostema  dichotomum,  348 
Trifolium  agrarium,  231 

areense,  229 

procumbens,  231 
Triosteum  perfoliatum,  401 
Trompillo,  367 
Tumbleweed,  122 

Russian,  117 
Turkey-strip,  50 
Tussilago  Far  far  a,  501 

Umbrella  Leaves,  502 
Umbrella-wort,  Hairy,  130 

Heart-leaved,  129 

Narrow-leaved,  131 
Urtica  dioica,  88 

gracilis,  87 

holosericea,  89 

Valerian,  False,  507 
Valerianella  Locusta,  402 

radiata,  402 
Velvet-leaf,  276 
Venus's  Looking-glass,  408 
Veratrum  viride,  78 
Verbascum  Blattaria,  378 


Verbascum  Thapsus,  377 
Verbena  bracteosa,  345 

hastata,  344 

officinalis,  343 

stricta,  346 

urticaefolia,  343 
Verbesina  alternifolia,  468 

encelioides,  470 

helianthoides,  469 
Vernonia  altissima,  412 

fasciculate,  413 

gigantea,  412 

illincensis,  414 

maxima,  412 
Veronica  agrestis,  387 

officinalis,  383 

peregrina,  385 

serpyllifolia,  385 
Vervain,  Blue,  344 

European,  343 

Hoary,  346 

Large-bracted,  345 

Mullein-leaved,  346 

Nettle-leaved,  346 

White,  343 

Woolly,  346 
Vetch,  Bird,  247 

Blue,  247 

Common,  246 

Cow,  247 

Hairy,  249 

Pebble,  246 

Spring,  246 

Tufted,  247 

Winter,  249 
Vetchling,  Yellow,  253 
Vicia  Cracca,  .247 

saliva,  246 

villosa,  249 

Vincetoxicum  nigrum,  319 
Vine,  Love,  324 

Sand,  319 

Wild  Sweet  Potato,  320 

Wartwort,  445 
Water-pepper,  101 

Mild,  102 
Waxballs,  262 
Waybent,  66 
Way  bread,  391 
Weed,  Ague,  417 

Asthma,  411 


592 


INDEX 


Weed,  —  Continued 
Basil,  359 
Bird,  139 
Bird's  Nest,  307 
Bitter,  439,  455,  497 
Blue,  342 
Blue  Wax,  291 
Bugle,  360 
Bur,  334 
Butter,  505 
Butterfly,  315 
Canker,  506,  553 
Carrot,  455 
Chicken,  504 
Choke,  389 
Clammy,  198 
Cotton,  317 
Crazy,  239 
Crown,  454 
Dagger,  460 
Door,  97 
Downy,  441 
Dyer's,  423 
Dyer's  Green,  224 
Fever,  416 
Flat,  528 
Flax,  379 
French,  174 
Frost,  432 
Hair,  324 
Halfbreed,  451 
Heart,  102 
Hog,  132,  439 
Horse,  439,  454,  543 
Jamestown  or  Jimson,  375 
Mark,  274 
Meal,  112 
Muskrat,  301 
Naked,  534 
Neck,  385 
Nosebleed,  586 
Pepper,  329 
Pigeon,  339 
Pilot,  449 
Pin,  258 
Pineapple,  492 
Pitchfork,  473 
Poverty,  433,  493 
Prairie,  207 
Prickly  Careless,  124 
Pride,  439 
Puke,  411 


Weed,  —  Continued 

Rattle,  222 

Red  River,  451 

Rheumatism,  314 

Rosin,  44? 

Rough,  357 

St.  James,  180 

Silk,  317 

Silver,  208 

Skeleton,  534 

Skunk,  329 

Slobber,  264 

Soldier,  124 

Sour,  95 

Squaw,  507 

Star,  139 

Steel,  432 

Stink,  174,  199,  329,  375,  485 

Strangle,  324 

Sun,  272 

Swan,  435 

Tick,  358 

Tinker's,  401 

Tobacco,  415 

Turpentine,  447 

Wart,  169,  272 

Winter,  139,  387 
Wheat-thief,  55,  339 
Whickens,  61 
Whin,  Dyer's,  224 
White  Bottle,  148 
White-top,  438 

Slender,  439 
Whiteweed,  493 

Tall,  438 
Wicky,  308 
Willow-herb,  Great,  294 

Night,  295 

Spiked,  294 
Wingstem,  468 
Wink-a-peep,  311 
Witch's  Hair,  28 
Woad-waxen,  224 
Wode  Whistle,  300 
Wood-sorrel,  Upright,  255 

Yellow,  255 
Woolmat,  332 
Wormseed,  109 
Wormwood,  498 

Annual,  497 

Biennial,  497 

Roman,  455 


INDEX 


593 


Woundwort,  Marsh,  357 
Soldier's,  486 

Xanthium  canadense,  461 

spinosum,  460 
Xanthoxalis  corniculata,  256 

stricta,  255 

Ximenesia  encelioides,  470 
Xylorhiza  Parryi,  439 


Yarrow,  486 

Sneezewort,  489 
Yellow-seed,  178 
Yellow  Star,  481 
Yellowweed,  Creeping,  426 

Tall,  425 
Yerba  Mansa,  85 

Zygadenus  venenosus,  76 


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mulae, repellents,  and  fumigants  described  in  detail. 

Descriptions  and  photographs  of  spray  machinery  and  accessories. 

An  illustrated  discussion  of  the  structure  of  insects.  How  they  live :  their 
habits,  senses,  and  manner  of  growth. 

Insects  as  carriers  of  disease.  The  typhoid  fly,  the  malarial  mosquitoes,  and 
others. 

The  classification  of  insects,  including  illustrated  descriptions  of  the  various 
important  groups  into  which  insects  are  divided. 

An  account  of  the  means  by  which  insects  are  dispersed. 

The  natural  enemies  of  insects.  How  they  are  held  in  check  by  parasites, 
by  fungous  and  bacterial  diseases,  and  by  birds  and  other  larger  animals. 

How  farm  practice  assists  in  insect  control,  showing  the  influence  of  plow- 
ing, cultivating,  destruction  of  weeds,  and  the  like. 

A  complete  bibliography,  giving  an  authoritative  reference  for  each  species 
treated  in  the  book. 


THE   MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

Publishers  64-66  Fifth  Avenue  New  York 


This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 

JAR  2  5  19! 
NlftR  1  *  1932 


JUNlTREC'O 
MN    5'S4 


DECS    1950( 
JUN      4 196? 


Form  L-9-15m-ll,'27 


AA    000579192    6 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


.''  17J988 


315 


UNIVERSITY  of  CALIFORNIA 
AT 
VNGELES 

ARY 


